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Embarqued: Stories of Soil
REVIEW:
Intention and actualization are not always easy to demonstrate, as illustrated in the new dance piece Embarqued, created by Stefanie Batten Bland. While the cast was full of life, wonderfully talented, engaged, beautiful, and committed to the dance, continuity was lacking in the storytelling. It fell short for all the works, props indicating multiple eras by using fabric for flags, garments, and blankets.
Embarqued historical efforts were unsuccessfully conveyed. Laden with counter momentary narratives that seemed out of place and monotonous, falling on top of each other like a game of pick-up sticks. Wherever one-story line began, the next wasn’t entirely realized. The moments seemed not to fit. Unable to make a fluid story understood by the audience. The dancers broke the fourth wall several times to talk to the audience. I wondered what the point was. Other times, the dancers muttered or blurted out a sound for no apparent reason. It added confusion, and sadly I thought it was a waste of a talented cast of dancers. It simply didn't work. Though I understood the dancers were auctioning off the US flag as a wave to corporate greed and bias, it came out of nowhere and went nowhere. The points of reference were all over the map.
While Embarqued’s description says: It invites reflection of our shared history and interrogates our relationships with memorialization, revealing post-colonial foundations and mythologies.
I wished it had lived up to this picture instead of creating theatrical bewilderment. Listening closely to people leaving the theater, I heard one woman say, “I couldn’t grab onto too much,” her friend responded I got some moments but nothin’ too deep.”
