PRESS - Review of "MiDi" Anchoraga Daily News

REVIEW of "MIDI" in the Anchorage Daily News
review by dance reviewer Anne Herman

"Abstract Dance, music combo leaves much to be pondered

'MiDi': Company's work expands notion of what art can be like."

" ... These are potent images from a dance called 'MiDi'. The alban elved dance company presented this stark 75 minute piece thursday at Out North Contemporary Art House.

Combining strong physical movements with state-of-the-art technology, ... ('MiDi' is) a raw work that expands our notions of what art can look and sound like. ...

Although it sounds technical and left-brained, 'MiDi' was actually very visceral. It seemed a work about control; who or what had it, and how it was used, ...

sharp cutting gestures often morphed into long movement phrases. ...

Musical segments were layered and then stripped by the performers, creating a sonic flow that mirrored the activity onstage.

'MiDi' was not an easy dance to watch or understand. Its abstract dissonance forced the viewer to accept it in the here and now and then ponder its meaning afterward. It was, in the end, perhaps a commentary on life internal and external, personal and societal. But even if the dance made little sense at the time, it touched the viewer powerfully. And this too is what art is about.