Joe Johnson
Over the weekend, choreographer Alexandra Farber and The Modern Art Museum presented a series of ballet dances with the debut of a new performance, “Three Portraits,” inspired by the current exhibit at the museum, “Women Painting Women.”.
The performance marked a return for Farber, who choreographed a similar show in the spring.
In addition to “Three Portraits,” audiences were treated first to a solo performance of “The Way We Change,” a dance performed at the show in the spring. Next, a duo performed “Inside Voices,” another repeat.
“I was feeling the kinship between the art and the dancers,” Farber says about watching her performances. “You don’t know what the artist is thinking, but you get your own idea about what narrative is being told.”
In preparation for this show, Farber practiced for about four weeks by herself as she choreographed the new “Three Portraits” dance. It took about four weeks with three-hour practice days with the other dancers.
One clever piece of the show was Farber’s experimentation with the sound of silence during some parts of the routine. This was done intentionally and created a more intensive and emotional experience for guests. The only sound was the dancers’ bare feet grazing the museum’s floor gracefully. It was such an artful experience that museum patrons from a previous show were stunned at the performance and gawked happily.
“I like experimenting with leaving things vague. It’s almost like a Rorschach inkblot,” she says. “It’s a celebration of how we are as humans. We shouldn’t all think the same way when watching art. As a Jewish woman choreographer, I hope that people can realize that while we come from different backgrounds, other stories exist too.”
This was Farber’s third time at the Modern with a dance performance like this. Farber is a visual artist in the area, continues to work in the Texas Ballet company full time, and is looking forward to marrying her fiance in October.
Our Review: The Modern has carved an excellent path for local artists to share their unique passions, and ballet is sometimes overlooked in Fort Worth’s art community. The artist, Farber, says she loves a well-versed mix of reviews and that she wants people to feel discomfort if able. Farber forces you to look at the dancers and the emotion that transpires between the beauty of sound and color. The first two were hypnotizing and while sometimes one could feel the uncomfortableness in the space, it was an intentional discomfort that was fresh.
The third performance, “Three Portraits,” was a series of movements by three performers inspired by the exhibit “Women Painting Women.” The performance also used female-based songs as a nice track to the movement. Phones and side conversations were not physically present as the dance itself was captivating and engaging.
Overall, each performance was as powerful and organic as the one before and museum-goers not specifically there for the performance were lured to dancing. Farber herself is a strong creative force in such a unique way, and we look forward to more performances and her collaborations with The Modern.
