With The Pillow Project’s expansive multi-paned windows, patrons had always been able to watch the deepening shades of blue as the night sky settled over the city. But this time it all seeped into the music and dance at “Dirty, Hot and Blue,” Pearlann Porter’s latest project at The Space Upstairs on Saturday night.
After ascending the tunnel-like staircase, it ‘s always a surprise to emerge into the Pillow’s always-changing performing environment. This time the comfy clusters of furniture were pushed to the far end of The Space. In the corner, visitors could get chair massages alongside the fancy new bar. There Violet Affinity, Whiskey Daisy, Ruby Manhattan and Woo Woo, part of Ladies United for the Preservaton of Endangered Cocktails (a real website) concocted a drink they called The Godmother, inspired by Ma Rainey, know as the “Godmother of the Blues.” The vodka/amaretto blend came with an explanatory card and a little verbal history about Ma. Over at the side wall, four year-old Isabella Cacalano-Jordan pointed to one of the paintings lining the walls and proudly proclaimed, “That’s me!.” (The Pillow always gets a great mix of young and old, singles and families.)
Wil E. Tri and his blues-based combo were already in knee-deep in grit by the time I arrived, setting the stage for dance vignettes by Porter and Michael Walsh. Walsh took a more formal choreographic approach in constructing his meandering patterns, easily oozing into the theme of the evening.
Porter is moving into more improvisation and generating material through her dancers, a bit like acting’s The Method. With the women in light cotton dresses, there was a definite splash of Southern comfort to the movement. But the warm weather also played a part in making an easy-going transition into Tennessee Williams’ country.
It’s a little tricky to construct a program all around the blues — its mostly languid, heavy-duty emotions tend to lull the audience. But Porter and company provided some inspired moments, particularly Beth Ratas, who sensually ascended to a her own hot tin roof in a duet with Anne Pavlick. Tiny Kaylin Horgan enjoyed slithering around a chair to a whimsical dental song, “Pepsodent,”
Porter also provided a table duet, where Pavlick tried everything to get the attention of her self-absorbed, newspaper-bound partner, Joshua Reese. Like the others, the pieces were performed, at least in part, several times over the course of the evening to differing musical styles. When the dancers made the transition from the blues to the silent segment at the end, where audience members could listen to their own accompaniment selections on an iPod or similar device, it gave the movement a whole new dimension.
Porter worked hard to keep up the pace, but this program was all about, well, just hangin’.
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