ARTSCAPE

In Time, Keturah Stickann, 12-17-06

January 12th, 2007

Keturah Stickann is a talented artist, working as a dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, and director. In Time — Stage & Video Works, presented an evening of original dances and two short films, at the Arts & Entertainment Center, San Diego, CA.

“Utazó (The Traveler)” is a beautiful experimental dance film shot in Budapest. A traveler explores the timeless European capital, creating a stream-of-consciousness tour of ancient passageways, vistas, and architecture. The visual contrasts are strong and compelling, as the archetypal American student weaves her way among the daily rituals of a much older culture. But Utazó is not a typical student — she is a dancer, and her movement echoes, reflects, and interprets the ancient messages of this Magyar land.

“Utazó” has many stunning scenes, most powerfully when the organic movements of the dancer provide a rich counterpoint to the structural dynamism of the city’s bridges and parapets. “Utazó” was directed and performed by Keturah Stickann and edited by John Menier, with music by Zachary Stickann.

“They’ll Devour Me Too” is a full-length dance performed by Kimberly Jensen and Molly Terbovich. The piece explored relationship dynamics — attractive and repulsive — and offered thoughtful, insightful, and provocative images of how a once-good thing can go bad, and possibly become good again. A great deal was required of the dancers in the work’s physically demanding choreography, and Ms. Jenson and Ms. Terbovich danced with concentration, beauty, and grace.

The film “Weiblich Ist?” is a humorous inquiry into male-female identity. A young woman thinks she wants to go to a singles event that evening, but can’t decide what to wear. This familiar human situation is turned inside-out, literally and figuratively, as her wardrobe and costuming become a metaphor for sexual role and transformation. “Weiblich Ist?” was directed and performed by Keturah Stickann and edited by John Menier.

“What’s In Store” is dance as political commentary. A street-cleaner, an employee of “Karmic Sanitation” (identified by a logo on her cap), has a lot of work to do. There’s newspaper trash, heralding the grim news from the Middle East. Other headlines bear the fatuous slogans of American party hacks. No news is good in this bare-bones Godot-esque landscape. The worker’s strong, brusque, angry movement is swept along by the driving score, “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”, by Johnny Cash. We feel her pain, because it’s our pain, too.

It’s clear that, as an artist, Keturah Stickann has a great deal to say. We the audience were privileged to share in an art-event of creativity, vision, and intelligence.

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