Indeed they are all beauties—- and we see a lot of the elder three projected on the large back screens. Naked, each is in an art photo nude as opposed to pornographic peeks. They have opted to be Apollo — God of Music among other arts, and frequent courtier to the Muses—but they could have just as well taken the handle of Adonis.
Pioneer Winter carries the weight of representing all the younger generations. We watch his figurative hatch from embryo status into a full fledged and fully trained Apollo. Among other things, he is the ticket to die for his three elders. He gets more than a little tired of their notion that they own and created the world that he will inherit. Get out of my way, says his youthful energy.
The story unfolds as a one-man band mans keyboards, synthesizers and cymbal that he brushes from time to time for special effect. A video cam is akin to another performer on the stage, and sometimes seeming to be THE main character in the story. The camera zooms, multiplies images, and sometimes meshes with other less live projections. It glues us to the story. Our attention never wanders.
American Dance Festival Partners with Carolina Theater for Pride Month Focus
Apollo is story telling with movement, not your typical contemporary dance. Apollo takes us on a retrospective journey through the AIDS epidemic. There is a trunk— a main prop in the story— that is decorated with the names of whom we presume are the fallen before HIV cures came to be. These are at first invisible to us, until black light revealed. The experience of living through The Plague, as it was nicknamed back in the day, was lived experience for three ,and a learned experience for one. We are asked to learn along with the younger Apollo.
Winter Collective is About DEMOCRATIZING DANCE
We learn in the post-performance discussion that Pioneer Winter Collective’s devotion to Democratizing Dance and making dance performance available and accessible to all abilities has a devout fan base. Visit the Pioneer Winter Collective website to learn more.
For more information visit the American Dance Festival website.
Photos are by Karli Evans
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About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
