LAVA is hot stuff at NaCl

By TOM KANE

	Contributed photo Actors of Toronto's Number Eleven Theater (Click for larger image)

HIGHLAND LAKE, NY — As I watched the LAVA Company perform its marvelous production of “High Tide” last Friday evening at the NaCl Theater, I was struck by the performers’ extraordinary ability to combine styles of modern dance and gymnastics.

Characteristic fluid movement, split second timing, stamina, incredible physique, control of the body, endurance and effortless balance of gymnastics merged with the graciousness, intensity, artistry, interpretation and synchronization of modern dance in fantastic—and at times breathtaking—performances of circus-like feats that stunned and wowed.

This was a return performance by LAVA, the group that impressed audiences last summer. In an hour and a half of continuous performance, the extraordinary women created a whirlwind of action that mesmerized and awe-inspired the audience.

There were “ohs” and “ahs” and explosive applause from the viewers, who hardly had a minute to gain their collective breaths.

At one point, a number of hoops were loosely stacked and the six women leaped and gushed like streams of water through the circles without once knocking any of them down.

They rolled on the floor to the rhythm of the music, rolled over each other and formed a stack with their bodies. They climbed over shoulders with grace and ease and formed inverted pyramids; at one time Sarah East Johnson held four women by herself.

The production utilized a large background screen on which abstract art, shots of the cascading Niagara Falls and other saturated color fields were projected. Dominating all of this activity were the performers’ playfulness, unanimity, compassion and love.

In 1999, LAVA won an OBIE Award and a Bessie Award for direction and choreography for its production of Lava Love. The NaCl program stated, “LAVA productions blend circus acrobatics, post-modern dance, social dance, theater and video projections to create unique performances that are inspired by volcanoes, evolution, physics, feminism and love.”

In a short break in the action, the company’s creator and director, Sarah East Johnson, told the audience that the performers’ ages ranged from 24 to 32 and that Chinese circus, yoga and modern interpretive dance inspired the performances.

“We practice incessantly,” Johnson told the audience. It showed.

LAVA has performed in New York at Performance Space 122, The Kitchen, The Flea Theater, Celebrate Brooklyn, Central Park Summerstage and around the U.S. in Minneapolis, Michigan, Boston, Philadelphia, Maine and MassMoca (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art).

The one thing that was missing was a good audience. I expected the small seating section to be packed, but it wasn’t. Frankly, I am puzzled by the lack of audience for works like this, which NaCl puts on with such aplomb and singular inspiration. They deserve more.

My word to readers: do yourself a favor and don’t miss the final production of The Catskills Festival of New Theater on August 29 and 30, which will present the renowned Number Eleven Theater from Toronto, Canada.

For more information or reservations call NaCl at 845/557-0694 or visit nacl.org.