Graduating Master of Fine Arts candidates are performing two new choreographed pieces at the Vanderhoef Studio Theater in the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis.
 

Nina Galin’s three-part dance/theater/musical piece, “Jointedness,” is composed of two solo performances and a quartet. According to Galin’s program notes, it explores different senses of “joint” through her “long-term engagement with two literary texts: Shakespeare’s ‘To be, or not to be’ soliloquy from Hamlet, and Rilke’s poem ‘Sense of Something Coming,’ translated by Robert Bly.”
 

Jess Curtis’ excerpt from “Dances for Non/Fictional Bodies” is an hourlong piece featuring five talented performers, a variety of odd costumes and props and full nudity. According to the performance’s press release, Curtis’ piece seeks to “probe the role(s) of imagined societal ideals as a kind of ‘fictional body’ that disables individuals in terms of their abilities to see others, and be seen, as beautiful, empowered, and autonomous.”
 

On opening night Friday, the audience was ushered into the Vanderhoef Theater, where a series of chairs and large, flat panels sat on the stage. “Jointedness” began in the darkened theater, followed by a spotlight on Galin, who was wearing a blue jumpsuit lacking an arm and leaning against an exit door. She pressed the door open and pounded against it as it shut. She then walked around the theater, smiling, shaking hands and introducing herself politely to a few audience members. Galin’s recitation of Shakespeare’s soliloquy while gracefully jumping onto and off chairs was poignant, but her anguished repetition of various lines while swinging an orange extension cord around her head was definitely the most memorable, and tense, moment of the piece.
 

The second portion of Galin’s performance involved the audience. People were asked to leave their seats and walk around a set consisting of several tall white panels. Inside the panels were a creaky wooden desk and chair and performer James Marchbanks. At times the room was completely silent, at others several tracks played in the background. The beauty of the piece was created by the swirling effect of the audience milling around the panels coupled with the shadows of the lights against the white panels.
 

The third and final portion of “Jointedness” began with Galin in a red satin gown singing the “To be or not to be” soliloquy from the theater balcony. Three dancers, dressed in outfits that combined blue jumpsuits with red gowns, swayed to the sound of her voice as Galin climbed down from her perch using a cargo net.
 

While Galin’s work might not be the easiest for theater novices to interpret, she does offer some enlightenment as to the meaning of her piece. Her notes in the performance program state, “My title refers to my interest in both literal and metaphorical joints. As a dancer and bodyworker, I prize physical articulation. As a philosopher and citizen, I value moments of conceptual jointedness: points of collaboration, transformation and change … I refer to [my pieces] as ‘Presence Tests.’ Presence, meaning a very high level of bodymindspirit awareness in relationship to an audience and a space … Two of the pieces are ‘studies.’ By this, I simply mean that they function as different ways for me to engage with the ‘To be or not to be’ speech, using different tools.”
 

The second performance for the night was “Dances for Non/Fictional Bodies.” Audience members returned from intermission to four performers lying flat on their backs. The set was a collection of various bizarre materials, ranging from a bathtub to a nude female mannequin scattered all over the stage. The lights dimmed and the sound of breathing was heard as a silver radiation suit bearing forearm crutches slowly crossed the stage. As the piece gathered more energy, the performers on the floor sat up and began working on various tasks. Some undressed completely while others dressed up in outfits such as a yellow rain slicker and roller skates. As the piece progressed, the performers’ movements became livelier and there were even a few musical numbers, including a karaoke rendition of The Doors’ “Light My Fire.” The high point of the performance was when a male performer emerged from the bathtub wearing a child’s pink bunny slipper over his genitals.
 

Overall, “Dances for Non/Fictional Bodies” portrayed a mixture of emotions. There were humorous moments like when a male performer did a striptease and finally removed a tiny thong to reveal a blue penis sock. People stifled giggles, unsure if laughter was an appropriate response. There were also beautiful moments: Classically trained singer Claire Cunningham sang a piece accompanied by a man sitting on a toilet playing bass guitar. David Toole inspired a feeling of triumph in the audience when he demonstrated the power and elegance of dancing with his arms. There were also distinctly gloomy periods when the lights were dim and the performers’ movements slow and melancholy.
 

While the mixture of somewhat weird props and costumes might seem odd, the whole point of the piece is to celebrate difference and challenge the way the body and the imagination interact. In the performance program, Curtis claims his piece is all about “a meeting of diverse bodies and performance practices. The range of shapes and styles of training that make up our bodies is broader than in many ‘dance’ based companies. Our differences force us to question how we imagine ourselves and each other and to imagine and negotiate new ways of dancing and playing together, not in spite of, but actually in celebration of, those differences.”
 

The double feature of “Jointedness” and “Dances for Non/Fictional Bodies” continues Feb. 19-21. Be advised that the performance does contain nudity.
 

Photos courtesy of Kristine Slipson