'MOMIX' Alchemia in Tel-Aviv

Well, if you put it that way, alchemy is a perfect name for Moses Pendleton and Cynthia Quinn’s Washington dance company MOMIX’s show. They experiment with movement, structures and space to create a journey through dance that couldn’t possibly be scientific because it all just seems too magical to live in reality.

For four consecutive shows in Tel Aviv, Alchemia will transform The Israeli Opera House into a backdrop for human illusions, the arresting and intense visuals based upon the theories around alchemy expressed through interpretive dance. Skin-tight metallic suits and oversized wired ring-skirts will hypnotize the audience, as each cleverly choreographed movement doesn’t correspond in a traditional way to common dance narratives. The piece combines surrealism over layers of enchanting movement to bring about a sense of unpredictability to a market that demands it.

During Alchemia, Pendleton anchors the trickery with artistic dexterity by addressing the elements of our world; earth, water, air and fire, in a way that grounds the production. With over 40 years in the industry, artistic director and veteran Pendleton knows exactly how to push the boundaries onstage. From choreographing the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, to making music videos with Prince, one trend that always seems to materialize in his work is the playful experimentation with movement and illusion. He unearths and invents motions so he can tinker with them as a conduit for movement.

If Alchemia plays with the forces of nature, the final product explores them dramatically so that there’s no chemical reaction but instead a wrought, raw and fully immersive emotional concoction. Dance performances covering many different genres often have surrealistic elements, teetering on the edge of what the audience perceives to be reality, yet while Pendleton’s engrossing stage features ordinary shapes, lights, and theatrical cues he paints a surrealistic hue with the help of the imagination of the audience: multiple movements that blend into each transition vary in length to establish a lulling rhythm throughout.

You can try to decipher the illusions here, or not. To do so might mean you’re absorbed and exhausted at the same time. Either way you’ll be utterly compelled which is the unwritten expectation for entertainment: to enter both the stage and the minds of the audience and live in that space for a little while. The excitement of Alchemia grows into something transcendent, a testament to the concept and rigor of personal transformation. With every ordinary dance move, like a plié or développé, the dancers periodically build into something more sublime. The moment when they pause to do nothing but catch their breath, there is a stillness that feels so dense it could easily devour you whole.

Lior Phillips