Critics
call their work "animalistic," "viscerally thrilling,"
and "beautifully conceived." The members of the Wire Monkey
dance troupe combine gymnastics, acrobatics, and dance as they perform
on a 20-foot-high mobile scaffold. WFCR's Charlene Scott reports.
-WFCR
"Since
2000, Wire Monkey Dance has been carving its own niche in the dance world."
-Springfield Union News
Wire
Monkey will premiere its newest work, "Short Circuits," two
pieces encompassing not only choreography set on and around the scaffolding,
but also video and original music. The title reflects Savage's and Polins'
concern, stated in the program, that "with glacial millennia replaced
by mere melting years, and local events triggering global conflicts, the
potential for short circuits is increasing."
-Daily Hampshire Gazette
- Press Release for Short Circuits
"This
work is beautifully conceived, vividly imaginative, and superbly performed.
It is both visually riveting and viscerally thrilling."
- The Boston Globe
"The
sheer athleticism of the work places Wire Monkey in the tradition of companies
like Pilobolus." "It's a testament to the vision of Savage and
Polins that Wire Monkey has achieved success so early on."
-The Advocate
| View
article on Advocate site
"Wire
Monkey shows how the lamp poles, telephone cables, fire escapes and
asphalt inherent of modern cities are the new trees, vines, and dirt
of tomorrow.They remind us of our inborn wishes to break free of what
binds us to the metal and marble of our surroundings."
- UMASS Fine Arts Center Spotlight
"Some
dance fans might remember Jeremy Alliger's aerial dance festival, or
the contemplative rituals by the bugaku-inspired company Jo Ha Kyu that
appeared at the Cyclorama several years ago. Though most dancers find
that much elbow room daunting, the performers of Wire Monkey Dance couldn't
be more thrilled."
-Boston Herald
"When
I saw Wire Monkey's debut performance at the Northampton Center for
the Arts, I kept forgetting to breathe. After all, I was watching dancers
who could fly. With a lightning speed, the seven dancers climbed, swung
and soared across the bars of a sophisticated jungle gym: 20 feet of
scaffolding that suggested an urban rain forest."
-The Artful Mind
"Seven international dancers... execute what, for most of us, appear
to be death-defying feats."
-The Advocate | View
article on Advocate site
"Like other ground-breaking choreographers such as Trisha Brown,
who turned modern dance on its side in the 1970s when she created works
for dancers dangling from rooftops and performing on the sides of buildings,
Wire Monkey's experiment has produced a thrilling work of art which
breaks down the conventional boundaries of modern dance."
-Springfield Union News
"Show-goers lined the stairs of the Northampton Center for the
Arts to gain entrance to this mysterious event... The crowd was mesmerized...
By the end of this success, the dancers were rewarded with a standing
ovation."
-Bravo
"The structure rotates on wheels, transforming from human prison
to primate playground and back again. ...there's the possibility for
magic to happen."
-Daily Hampshire Gazette