Moses Pendleton's illusionist dance company Momix has unveiled a dazzling new show at the Joyce theatre in Manhattan. Botanica is billed as a 'herbal remedy and natural aphrodisiac for our current universal blues' and features colourful costumes and marvellous moves. Take a peek at five of the routines
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/gallery/2009/may/15/momix-botanica?picture=347409112
This show was amazing. I was sitting in the front row, which I thought I wouldn't like but it was fantastic. It ran through the four seasons with a mix of large puppets and fabrics and props and sensual dancing. There was a large projector that projected images onto the huge cyc and you could see the dancers and their costumes/props/puppets move through the image. The imagery was symbolic of seasons and difference species. Eagles on rollerskates turned into beautiful elaborate sunflowers into trees. The opening was a large white cloth stretched from one end of the stage to another with giant fans blowing underneath it. It looked so much like snow it was unbelievable. Dancers would pop up and fight against the fabric, their faces and bodies reaching out through the white like something you would see in a horror movie. Out of the white fabric arose a huge flower like, flexible skeleton, fabric structure that reached almost to the top of the theatre. Dancers emerged from underneath the snow to interact with the flowers hanging from the arms of the veined flower.
There were so many other dances, dances of angry bees and a cool black light number making shapes with just arms and legs glowing in the dark. At one point an almost naked woman did a dance of shapes on a raked stage with a mirrored bottom, which you can see in the youtube. The movements were sensual and it was almost as if she was making love to herself in some sense. Aka, Robert Keith would have been happy. Here are some more pictures I found online... not even covering the best parts.
There was a naked woman riding in on a Lion King-esque puppet dinosaur. They had a weird sexual love dance then she saw the naked man lying on a pile of rocks that was actually another dancer, and the dinosaur got jealous and ate her. Then the man fought off the rocks (picking the dancer up and carrying her in the fetal position around his neck, with NO HANDS, and dancing around), and the humans were reunited. 
Dance of the Marigolds. The costume progressed 4 or five times, dropping down each time. The style of dance changed with the costume, so when the orange cluster of tulle was in the middle like a tutu, it was ballet, and when it was down by their ankles, it was flamenco/salsa.
Large fabric with veins that spread out across the whole stage and came out over us. Beautiful pictures were projected onto the fabric as it soared through the theatre.
So I'm making a list of things that when put on stage will command attention, no matter what:
babies
animals
water
nakedness (I don't mind seeing people naked on stage but it does command attention, which draws away from what the dance might be trying to say because everyone in the audience is thinking.... are they naked? Why are they naked? what is that trying to say? maybe their wearing a dance thong? ok... nope, thats a butt.... )
moving, large pieces of fabric.
Anyway, it was truly a wonderful experience.
Love, Lisha
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