ODC Theater's residency program recently invited veteran choreographers Sara Shelton Mann and Yannis Adoniou to present two new works that would create "compositionally conceived, emotionally derived dances." Though the idea is probably a good one, the execution could use a little more workshop time to hone the curatorial themes. Both Shelton Mann and Adoniou are known for creating heavily thematic work, layered with multimedia and incorporating detailed theatrical frameworks.
The evening opens with Shelton Mann's Telios/Telios, beginning before the audience enters the performance space. Dancers Hana Erdman and Alexander Zendzian perform a contact improvisational duet that is well-designed but a little flat. Contact improvisation utilizes a specific vocabulary, and most of the movement phrases seemed like they had been derived from standard contact exercises. While this kind of choreography can be infinitely exciting in the hands of experienced performers, Erdman and Zendzian were competent but not stellar.
As Telios/Telios began to unfold, it became apparent that Erdman and Zendzian were precursors for the more experienced Adoniou and local favorite Kathleen Hermesdorf. Both of these dancers have a wealth of performance experience, and Shelton Mann appears to have confidence in their ability to interpret her material. Adoniou is a classically trained dancer who uses a combination of elegant and quirky movement, while Hermesdorf is a contact powerhouse who has a different kind of grounded elegance. Unfortunately, Shelton Mann's material for Adoniou and Hermesdorf seemed under-developed, and the performers didn't make a real connection.
Shelton Mann's sound score was designed by composer Calvin L.L. Jones and featured text by the choreographer, a commentary on the encroachment of technology and consumer culture. Video design by David Szlasa added texture to the performance but sometimes created a muddy quality that didn't always help support Shelton Mann's vision.
Adoniou's company Kunst-Stoff closed the evening with a new suite of pieces titled In 4 Sections. The work was inspired by "simple (not always) human relationships, ordinary people driven by cosmic energies, as well as their own emotions." Adoniou presented stripped-down movement under unpleasantly glaring lights and an eclectic sound score by four disparate composers. Each part of the suite was an emotional vignette focusing on a particular theme or group of dancers. In 4 Sections, Adoniou creates a postmodern conglomeration that plays on the audience's expectations and explores the choreographer's need to look below the surface.
Kunst-Stoff is not a corps group of dancers. The unison sections seemed awkward, and the piece worked best when Adoniou focused on the individual strengths of the performers. The material needs more performances to flesh out what works, and the dancers were not as strong as they have been in the past. Adoniou's costumes were not flattering and actually distracted from the visual design. With more time, it will probably become clear how the four sections are related, but at this point there is a disconnected quality between them.
Overall, the evening was an interesting experiment on ODC's part, offering residencies to two experienced artists and waiting to see how they relate to each other. The program has an unfinished quality to it, and neither piece has the polished veneer usually expected under these kinds of circumstances. Neither artist really captured the intimacy of the ODC stage, but it will be interesting to see both pieces a little farther down the road.
Yannis Adoniou (Kunst-Stoff) and Sara Shelton Mann at ODC Theater, 3153 17th St., SF. Plays Dec. 14-16 at 8 p.m. Tickets ($15-$18) at (415) 863-9834 or www.odcdance.org.