By Megan Bridge, for thINKing Dance
February 14, 2014
TD writers, polled for quick takes on Group Motion’s performance of THEN by Susan Rethorst,
responded in ways that were warm, cool and in-between.
“The biggest impression THEN left me with was how not-needy it was. After coming home from
American Realness,* in which all the artists were trying to get presented, and were very much
asking for attention, THEN did not beg for it. THEN felt (to me) not concerned with being
impressive, but if I aligned my attention with the piece the right way, it rewarded me again and
again and again. It was a refreshing pleasure to watch.” —Annie Wilson
“I don’t know how I feel about this work—I don’t feel super strongly in general about it. There
were parts I liked, and I could really see how Rethorst’s work is related to her philosophy of
choreography.” —Becca Weber
“The choreographed playfulness and joy of the piece registered as spontaneity. The ensemble
interacted with an orchestrated precision that highlighted the formal mysteries of their play.
Throughout, the individuality of performers was always present, as in scenes with Lindsay
Browning, Greg Holt and Lesya Popil, where Rethorst was able to reveal and render coquettish
humor, raunchy extroversion and insular introspection, defining individual characters within the
ensemble. “ – Jonathan Stein
“In watching THEN I saw a lot of material and stylistic tendencies that I recognized from Susan’s
other work, in particular the piece I performed with her last year, 208 East Broadway. Lindsay
Browning’s impish and dramatic facial posturing and gestures were very similar to what Susan
asked us to do during an audition for her work in 2012. In 208 East Broadway Michelle Stortz
also performed a sequence like this…moving from upstage to downstage while batting
eyelashes and flirting with the audience, or an invisible presence. Many other details too, like
the particular way that dancers touched, poked, or manipulated each other’s bodies (stepping
over each other while kicking limbs out of the way) were reminiscent of bodies of material that
we cultivated during our rehearsal process. Even one exact movement sequence, with a port de
bras of the arms high overhead and then some twitching thumbs, was quoted verbatim. Many
artists reference, recycle, or quote verbatim** from their earlier work, and this practice probably
contributes to the cultivation of their own particular aesthetic. I’m wondering, for Susan, how
this practice relates to her commitment to “not knowing” in the studio.”**— Megan Bridge
“I found during this show that my mind was wandering a lot, which surprised me. The friend I
went with said she experienced the same. I also wonder if some of that wandering attention was
due to this feeling I had that some of the work was like an inside joke that I wasn’t totally in on.
Something about it was a little bit more alienating than inviting. And I had thoughts about
whether I would feel that way were I not familiar with all of the dancers in the cast, which was
an interesting thought proposal.” – Becca Weber
“I think the way that Susan works with dancers is particularly flattering to a company like Group
Motion. The company is full of powerhouse performers who are fully embodied and present
both physically and facially. Susan’s choreography, in particular the relaxed precision that her
movement contains, suits this group of dancers particularly well.” – Megan Bridge
“I think the experience, too, shows the value of bringing in outside artists to be a source of
continuing re-invigoration and discovery for an on-going and most talented company of
dancers.” — Jonathan Stein
THEN, by Susan Rethorst and Group Motion, Arts Bank, January 16-19, 2014
