Sowelu Theater
Portland, OR
503.730.9066
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| Keith Goodman |
Reviews: Domain, a dance in two parts by Keith Goodman, 2005
The Oregonian says: "Goodman is precise yet tender."
"Dance can be so rich, so compressed, that 45 minutes' worth sometimes equals a long evening of narrative theater.
So it is with Keith Goodman's new short work, Domain, presented by Sowelu Ensemble and Creative Enterprise. The dancer/choreographer, who is the artistic director of Dance Gatherer, offers a highly abstract portrait of two men who influenced his early life and his ideas "about what it means to prosper (or not) as an African American male in the U.S."
The piece, danced by Goodman, Joaquin Lopez and David Oury, has a sense of angularity and solidity. Yet tenderness lies obliquely at its center.
Precision is vital to Goodman, whether it's the placement of a hand, a quick turn or the sudden lifting of the head. Lopez and Oury frequently dance and interact as a pair, serving as background decoration one moment and becoming central in the next as the sound accompaniment shifts from temple gongs into driving jazz. Goodman's soft-spoken narrative gives some information about his subject, but it's insubstantial. Our imaginations do the work.
This season, Sowelu presents three short runs of dance, music and drama, of which Goodman's concert is the first."
—Holly Johnson