As beautiful ballerinas pranced across the stage in leotards and colorful masks and graceful monsters squirmed on the floor in outfits of pantyhose and cotton balls, I wondered what I had just gotten myself into. Although hard to follow, the costumes, music, and dance of “The Beast with Two Backs” invited its viewers into a fantastical world full of sensory beauty. Unlike anything seen recently at the University, the dramatic dance performance left this reviewer and others unsure of the plot, but pleased for trying out the new and confusing.
Performed twice a night last Friday and Saturday in the ’92 Theatre, “The Beast with Two Backs” showcased the creative energy that flows freely at the University. Born from a love of stories and unanswerable questions, the performance explored both space and relationships through intense dance and its setting.
A passion for the simple and a shared four years spent at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan brought together the three main collaborators of the performance. Z Behl ’07 and Nina Macintosh ’08 directed and conceptualized the show while Sam Dishy, a junior at Oberlin University who is taking a semester off, wrote the original score. With a cast of more than 20 and an ever-fluctuating crew that numbered in the thirties, everyone engaged in the process was a main contributor.
With rehearsals starting only two weeks before opening night and sets drying on stage during the first performance, “The Beast with Two Backs” was, in the directors’ own words, a miracle. Although it was thought up over the summer and pre-production began during spring break for Macintosh, Behl did not start work on the project until her drawing thesis was finished. Dishy, who composed music for a movie made by Macintosh in high school, scored the entire show in advance, but only had a full band rehearsal the day of the show.
Although rehearsals were officially held weeks ago, everyone who wanted to participate in the theatrical extravaganza was invited in to join in the fun. Choreographers, including Lydia Bell ’07, Stephanie Fungsang ’08, Spencer Garrod ’09, Toni Craige ’09, and Brittany Delany ’09, independently conceptualized each individual scene and rehearsed a cast of dancers and friends.
Lead dancers Miles Tokunow ’10 and Margo Fernandez-Burgos ’08 had a tangible chemistry that was apparent from the first moment they appeared on stage together. Their opening choreography of intimate touches and playful games brought the audience into their fantastical world for the remainder of the performance.
Mark Procter ’10 lent his amazing skills to the role of the Beast King and skillfully slithered from the rafters of the ’92 Theater in a daring descent onto the young siblings played by Tokunow and Fernandez-Burgos.
Although seemingly haphazard at times, such as during the hilarious but confusing dinner scene created to show the mundane trivialities of human life, “The Beast with Two Backs” was a performance that was willing to take risks. Although the dance’s two directors had last collaborated in high school, their University debut was both stunning and thought provoking. While confusing, the lush dance showcased the talent and energy of a dedicated group of students and brought reality, although briefly, to a much-needed halt.
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