Dancers of "For Want of Sleep" at the Joyce Theater

The five dancers of Skybetter and Associates performed at The Joyce SoHo in a production entitled For Want of Sleep. The performance featured five related and breathtaking pieces.

Beginning with a work entitled “The Laws of the Falling Body,” dancers merge on to the stage wearing loose black and gray outfits designed by Karen Young. They skip and run, and in many different scenarios drop, roll and jump into the arms of other performers. Their daring twirls in the air and synchronized rolls are striking.  While the five dances presented were very similar to each other with repeated themes of movement, this repetition by no means detracts from the quality of the overall performance. In fact, the dances complement each other and appear to build upon each other’s ideas.

In the dances “Near Abroad” and “For Want of Sleep,” only one gender is represented compared to the other sections where men and women share the stage. In “Near Abroad,” two male dancers perform. They tumble and catch each other playing with their strengths and agility. In  “For Want of Sleep,” two female dancers similarly play and spiral around each other. Interestingly in the final dance entitled “Little Boy,” men are featured wearing dresses similar to the costumes the women wear. In previous sections of choreography, the male dancers wore pants – a decided contrast. I saw all of this as an emphasis on gender, but in a post -performance discussion with Skybetter and Associates dancer, Jordan Isadore, he explained that the choreographer and dancers feel that their choices are gender neutral.  Men can dance with men; women with women; men and women can perform similar daring, athletic and beautiful movement; men and women can wear dresses or pants. The company sees bodies moving in space as opposed to male or female bodies moving.

The original music score by Sxip Shirey, featured in all of the dances, was excellent. Soft and melodic tones complimented the movements of the dancers. The lighting display by Kate Ashton was also phenomenal. Her use of different colors and brightness of light changed the mood on the stage instantly evoking provocative sensations.

For Want of Sleep is a performance worth seeing.