In Rest and Sleep

A Resurrection of Feelings Through Movement

Starr Foster Dance Presents “In Rest and Sleep”

A Dance Review by Julinda D. Lewis

At: The Firehouse, 1609 West Broad St., Richmond, RVA 23220

Performances: November 30 – December 3, 2023

Ticket Prices: $25 General Admission; $35 Arts Supporter; $40 for two with date night discount

Info: (804) 304-1523 or starrfosterdance.org or firehousetheatre.org

Program & Casting:

Swallow (Premiere): Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Molly Huey, Maeve Dick. Music composed and performed by Elisabeth Shornik, Guy Shornik

Proof: Mosca Mavrophilipos-Flint, Madison Ernestes, Maeve Dick, Fran Beaumont (Sat/Sun), Shannon Comerford (Thu/Fri). Original music composed by Daniel Deckelman.

In Rest and Sleep: Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Molly Huey, Madison Ernestes. Music by Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds, Anna Müller.

A premiere, a renewal, and a curation. That’s how I would summarize the three works presented by Starr Foster Dance in their fall 2023 performance at the Firehouse Theatre. Three works, three words. Of course, one can’t stop there – that’s just a teaser.

Swallow, parts of which were performed in the 19^th Annual Mid-Atlantic Choreographers Showcase last July, was inspired by the phrase “swallow your pride” – or maybe not. Performed for the first time in its entirety, it is a work of enfolding and unfolding, connecting and reconnecting. The four dancers move in and out of linear formations, and honor the four corners, as the music – Elisabeth and Guy Skornik’s “Time Machine Suite” provides a source of urgency.  At the same time Michael Jarrett’s balance of light and shadow offers a sense of dimensionality beyond the mere physical dimensions of the stage. “Swallow” could refer to the bird, nicknamed the “bird of freedom.” The bird is also a symbol of good luck or positive change. To “swallow one’s pride” involves adopting a positive attitude, taking on a posture of humility, opening new lines of communication, stepping outside one’s comfort zone, being willing to do something new, difficult, or uncomfortable – so many words to describe what a movement can convey wordlessly.

Proof, inspired by a photograph by Jay Paul that shows a group of people taking photographs, begins with the dancers circling clockwise. One by one, the dancers enter the circle and expand on simple yet mesmerizing motifs. The soundscape includes grinding sounds, booms, clatters, clicks and clacks and shuffles that suggest the sounds of a camera lens – with the dancers’ movements mimicking the workings of a camera. Large strides contrast with the tiniest wiggling finger motions. Mechanical patterns are balanced by sensuous body rolls. Mottled lighting peeks through a lattice-like template and the work ends with a flash and blackout. In photography, a proof is a sample, an unedited image. But a photograph may also be used as a sort of legal proof – proof that something really happened. Foster, as always, leave it up to the viewer to settle on a definition.

And that takes us to the second part of the program, the titular In Rest and Sleep, first seen at TheatreLab the Basement just a few short years ago. Seen with different dancers – or dancers in different roles – in a different space, the work is just as impactful as it was on its debut, if not more so. This time, Foster selected members of the audience to gently toss lilies onto the stage at the start of the piece. Three dancers were laying quietly on the stage, where there were also two large patches of artificial grass. A fourth dancer waited at the edge of the stage, also holding a flower.

The funeral connection was inescapable, but this is Starr Foster’s mind, so of course In Rest and Sleep is more than that. It resonates with a sense of grief and loss, but the bubbling music suggests resurrection. The dancers repeat a movement in which they plié, lean to the side, and swing their right arms. At other times, they gently pull their partners across the floor by an arm or leg. Both movements could have come from or taken us to a place of darkness, of lifelessness, or loss of control. Instead, they seemed more like affirmations of peace, of letting go. The work is marked by a virtuosity of contrasts that gently wrestles the audience into contemplative silence. In Rest and Sleep is more than choreography – it is therapy. It encourages us to re-examine memories, voices, and lessons from the past in new ways that make them sustenance for the present and fuel for the future.

In Rest and Sleep, the program, not just the one piece, is an artistic curation that attunes us to the ways we relate to others and touches us in places we had long forgotten.

Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County, VA.

Starr Foster Dance

Artistic Director/Choreography by: Starrene Foster

Company Artists: Fran Beaumont, Ana Branch, Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernestes, Molly Huey

Guest Performers: Maeve Dick, Mosca Mavrophilipos-Flint

Art Director: Douglas Hayes

Costumes Designed and Constructed by: Starrene Foster

Lighting Designer: Michael Jarett

Music Director: Daniel Deckelman

Thursday, November 30th 7:30PM OPENING NIGHT/ Q&A following show
Friday, December 1st 7:30PM CHAMPAGNE TOAST following the show with the artists
Saturday, December 2nd 5:00PM Matinee
Saturday, December 2nd 7:30PM Q&A following show
Sunday, December 3rd 5:00PM Matinee