Reading The Tea

Tamar Rogoff’s Claire Danes vehicle “Christina Olson: American Model”
While watching this show, I found myself contemplating what I would write about it. That’s not usually a good sign. It’s always hard to pull off a full night solo show, even for the most seasoned dancer. Claire Danes, while an excellent performer, is not an experienced dancer. The movement vocabulary for most of the show seemed like a checklist from a certain vein of dance thought. Reference to the Andrew Wyeth painting was confined to a pink dress, which she inexplicably removed several times to reveal a blue slip dress for a few five minute chucks, (put back on, took off, put back on… rinse and repeat) and the basic pose. Admittedly, there were a few satisfying moments exploring the pose, with beautifully executed scoops and spinal articulations. Sometimes a slide show cut in, interupting with an image of a barn, or a strange dark sky with quasi-animated grasses which somehow prompted her to lay out her dress on the stairs leading up to the screen. The only time the multi-media aspect seemed to serve a purpose, than than just being token multi-media, was a prolonged segment with Danes scooting across the street, approaching the theater, and painfully hoisting herself up the stairs, all without using her legs. “Ah yes!” we remember, “This was supposed to be exploring Christina’s tragic limitations!” (And not just her pink dress.) Near the end, Claire emerged wearing a black slip dress, and was allowed a whisper of a smile while she performed athletic turns and hops. Then the inspiring moment I’d been waiting for emerged. Her right strap came unhooked and exposed her breast. For the remaining five minutes she performed the movements with modifications to cover herself up as much as possible. Now I have something to write about.