News "Gabrielle Revlock and Nicole Bindler’s exuberant, brash, crowd-pleasing, insidery, rambunctious I made this for you demands its own space. It was showy, it was sprawling, it literally blew the doors of the space open. What’s most fascinating, however,about Revlock and Bindler’s superbly constructed, intelligent piece is how well it meshed with the decidedly more subdued pieces that preceded it. I made this for you, its proverbial tongue superglued inside its proverbial cheek, initiated a conversation about what dance “is”—played as a hyper-literal spoken exchange between Revlock’s self described “experimental postmodern abstract” dancer and Bindler’s American Apparel-clad hipster. Bindler objected to Revlock’s loose-limbed, isolated movements, claiming that what she was doing was not dance. Or, I should say, Bindler’s character objected--with the heavy use of dialogue in this performance and its arch tone, the chasm opened up between each dancer and the character she was portraying, functions of the artifice. Aiming to please, Revlock’s character scampered off-stage and returned clutching a hula hoop. She galloped and twirled about the stage with a Toddlers in Tiaras-like air of desperation as Bindler looked on non-plussed, casually disrobed and proceeded to pour her limbs around the space with languid precision. Revlock’s character froze in a grimace that read shock, shame, anger and wonder. The dialogue ended: words failed on-stage as they do in this review and the artifice began to deconstruct itself with Charlie Kaufman-esque cleverness as the dancers descended into a rabbit hole of styles, intentions and meanings. The piece vacillated wildly between madcap references and earnest contemplations, with equally varying results. At one point a panel of judges was brought on-stage for commentary, a rhetorical gesture both annoying and thought-provoking. Craig Peterson, of the Live Arts Brewery, rather hilariously deemed the piece a “vomitorium of styles” and “a dance apocalypse” with a level of snark that prompted one to wonder, “Is he playing a character, too?” Lisa Kraus, editor of this website, pointed out the potential disconnect. “There’s a piece of me that’s not sure how to look at the performance aspect,” she said. “Is it well-acted, for instance?” The query was left dangling, however, as Peterson took a cellphone call. For every step forward into an exploration of the larger intention, there was an equal step back into artifice. The latter increased in speed and frequency as the judges were quickly ushered off the stage and Revlock and Bindler commenced a series of sketches leading to their stunning final act. There was an prolonged sequence when Bindler French-kissed an audience member while Revlock presented a yoga dance with a partner; there was a trapeze artist, a poll of the audience, a b-girl, a wrestling match, roller skating. There was a moment when the piece broke open and dancers came out of the woodwork, tap-dancing, popping and locking, doing the salsa, capoeira and probably a dozen other kinds of physical performance. The circus-like atmosphere spilled out into the house and dancers cajoled audience members to abandon their seats, their introspection and join them as “Kids” by MGMT admonished “Take only what you need from it." --By R. Eric Thomas, thINKingDANCE Upcoming Events Jan 29th, 2012. Nicole Bindler and Dan Blacksberg teach you the Breathing Gym @ Andrea's house, Philly, PA. Feb 15th, 2012. "I think not" Choreography and Direction by Deborah Hay. Adaptation and Performance by Nicole Bindler. Dance Umbrella, Austin, TX. Feb 16th, 2012. "I think not" Choreography and Direction by Deborah Hay. Adaptation and Performance by Nicole Bindler. Dance Umbrella, Austin, TX. Feb 20th, 2012. Improvisation with David Dove and others, TBA They Who Sound series, Houston, TX. Mar 15th, 2012. 7pm "I think not" Choreography and Direction by Deborah Hay. Adaptation and Performance by Nicole Bindler. Performance Mix Festival, Joyce Soho, NYC. Apr 12th, 2012. 7pm Pia Mater excerpt Live Arts Brewery, Second Thursdays, Philly, PA. May 11th, 2012. 8pm Pia Mater + "I think not" Shared evening with PIMA Group Performance Garage, Philly PA May 12th, 2012. 8pm Pia Mater + "I think not" Shared evening with PIMA Group Performance Garage, Philly, PA May 13th, 2012. 8pm Pia Mater + "I think not" Shared evening with PIMA Group Performance Garage, Philly PA Jun 15th, 2012. 8pm "I made this for you." at Dance Place Jun 16th, 2012. 8pm "I made this for you." at Dance Place