A Review of In the Mood for Frankie

Choreographer Trajal Harrell’s dance performance In the Mood for Frankie took place in EMPAC’s lobby during the 10YEARS at EMPAC festival.  The three dancers performed on three catwalks.  Lighting from above and music accompanied the dance.  Benches surrounded the catwalks on all sides for the audience to sit.  The first thing I noticed when I sat down before the show began was a bowl of live goldfish resting next to the catwalk.  Within minutes, someone came to pour the fish in a channel between the platforms.  Immediately, I wondered what roll goldfish could have in a dance performance.  In being so small, would they even be noticeable once the show began?  From the whispers in the audience, I knew I was not the only one with these thoughts.  Then abruptly, the questioning voices stopped as the first dancer made his way out of the crowd and into the light.

The first dancer emerged in gym shorts and a t-shirt.  A fringed wrap covered his face.  He moved slowly, his movements reminiscent of a wanderer in the desert.  As he moved across the catwalk, I found myself focusing on his bare feet.  They took each step with incredible care, the heels never touching the ground.  Then, the second dancer appeared, his dance just as graceful.  Shortly after the third dancer arrived, clad in lounge pants and a floral blouse, the music shifted from elegantly calming to lightly energizing.

What ensued is perhaps my favorite part of the performance.  The purpose of the catwalks as opposed to an ordinary stage became apparent to me in this moment.  The dancers strutted down the catwalks, modeling their clothes.  Their movements were fluid and sultry, feminine at times.  The most interesting part about this segment was how they appeared to be dancing in slow motion.  It was impressive to see someone move so slowly but yet maintain the expressive flow of the dance.  The overall effect made the trio seem like they were in a fun movie montage, which I found quite intriguing.

Constant change characterized the performance.  The dancers would periodically disappear behind the audience, each time displaying a different garment when they reappeared.  At one point, one of the dancers came back out with the other’s floral blouse tied around his waist.  It was like a fashion show, almost.  The garments were a conglomeration of street clothes varying in patterns and textures.  I did not particularly like the combinations of the clothes.  I found them to be a bit distracting at times.  However, I appreciated how each of them moved differently.  I feel as though if the clothes themselves were simpler, monochromatic perhaps, it would be easier to focus on their motions.

The music and the lighting further emphasized constant change, both adapting to match the emotion in each new dance.  Overall, the performance moved along an emotional arc, culminating in a much different place than where it began.  The show closed out with three solos, each expressing an increasing level of sadness.  The final solo featured a dancer in the very center, contorting under the now very dim light.  Silent screams escaped from his mouth to join the melancholy music.  This embodiment of pure anguish stood far from the joyous dancing under the bright lights of before.  When the dance was done, the lights came on and the crowd applauded.  My eyes drifted to a place they had not gone since the show began, and I had to wonder: what was up with the fish?