Echoensemble offers mind-blowing performance
BY BOB KRASNER
In a world of divisiveness, the Monday
evening performance by the
members of the ECHOensemble
presented a world where contradictions
not only existed peacefully side by side,
they meshed in a way that presented
unlimited possibilities.
Dressed completely in black, the
seven performers dealt with their unusual
stage with improvised creativity.
The venue was anything but traditional,
being an empty storefront on Avenue A
and East 4th Street that was provided
by the non-profit organization Cha-
ShaMa. Founded in 1995, the group
partners with property owners who are
willing to provide unused real estate for
various artistic ventures.
Jonah Udall, the director of
the ECHOensemble, welcomed the
challenge of working in the unconventional
space. “It’s both difficult and
inspiring,” he noted, before the performance.
“The lighting, the columns –
the work will be a product of the space
and the moment.”
Although the group has only been
performing in public since January,
they put in a full year of weekly rehearsals
prior to their debut at Dixon Place.
Their improvised pieces are not the
results of rules or pre-arranged cues,
but come out of what Udall refers to as
their “practice.” “It’s not about rules,”
he explained. “Rules are from the outside
in – we work from the inside out.”
This piece – titled “Echo/Chamber”
– involved music and dance but
contained very little conventional music
and no choreography. Beginning
in silence, the piece slowly gave way to
trombone bleats, the sound of sneakers
repeatedly rubbing the floor, a guitar
gently hitting the wall and occasional
wordless yelps. Random thoughts became
repeated actions, providing a visual
rhythm that blended with moments
of stillness.
A musician might walk across the
space, blow a note and return to where
he started, over and over, while another
would raise his guitar in the air and
then lower it again. The guiding principle
being that, “an echo is created,
repeated and transformed in play with
space and time.”
Spectators were encouraged to view
the spectacle from anywhere they chose
and to move from place to place whenever
they felt the urge. In doing so the
audience became part of the set and a
part of the performance as well. One
could choose to concentrate on a corner
of the room, where a single performer
created a silent tableau, or turn
to see the quiet chaos that filled the former
bank.
It was not a show for everyone, but
they had an audience that appreciated
their efforts. Robert Scripp commented
that, “It was eye-opening, but not in a
cliched sense. It was like looking at an
abstract painting – it requires something
of the viewer.”
Quinn Ford, “a fan of deconstructionism,”
found that it brought to mind
a number of philosophical influences,
including John Cage and Plato’s “Allegory
of the Cave.” She also noticed that
“it was nice to see the crowd grow,” as
passersby came in out of the snow during
PHOTO : BOB KRASNER
the show.
ChaShaMa founder Anita Durst,
who was on hand to introduce the event,
also noted the effect of the group on the
pedestrians. “ECHOensemble used every
corner of the room, banging on the
walls, crawling on the floors enticing
the passersby,” she said, adding, “The
unique performance by ECHOensemble
was like no other performance that
I had seen at 172 E. 4th St. It dared the
audience to cross the boundaries of the
4th wall, urging one to become part of
the performance.”
Further information can be found
at www.echoensemble.com and www.
chashama.org
The next performance at 172
East 4th St. will be Friday, Dec. 6,
4-9pm: The Greenhouse Ensemble (an
independent theater collective) presents
musical performances by Jalopy
Records and artist pop-up shop and
gallery (also open over the weekend):
https://chashama.org/event/jalopyrecords/
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