Dance - Changing times

Since Sept. 11, Beacon Dance choreographer D. Patton White says the images evoked by the Atlanta premiere of his choreographic work, “Streetscapes,” has taken on an entirely new meaning.

Based on video footage he shot in New York City a couple of years ago, the piece examines the idea of being alone, both spatially and emotionally, and considers what it means to be in relationships, whether with friends, family members or lovers.

“Our world and our country have come out of [interpersonal] isolation through the loss of innocence” following the collapse of the World Trade Center, says White. A simple motif, like that of pieces of paper, now recalls the snowstorm of paper that fell after the towers’ collapse. “It’s about the only thing that was recognizable,” White recalls.

“Streetscape” is a 50-minute work in four sections, each introduced by edited versions of the original video footage that inspired the piece. The first considers the notion of isolation and what it means to be alone, even in a crowd.

The second section looks at happenstance meetings, when circumstances throw us into a relationship with another individual through chance. Technology, and its tendency to encourage isolation, forms the basis for the third section of the work.

“How many times have you wanted to talk with someone else and you’ve gotten an automated system?” White asks.

Finally, through recognition and attention to the natural world, the piece places individuals back into relationships with one another on a human level.

Beacon Dance also will premiere “Intersections,” a choreographic work by Hilary Benedict and Martha Donovan that takes the viewer out of reality and into the fantasy of what might have been. It examines what might have happened had we chosen a different path.

Using text and movement, the piece is sensual, with a tension playing upon reality and shifting time. The work also examines the possibility of time travel.

“It takes you into situations and looks at how you act in those situations or leave those situations,” says Benedict.

“Streetscape” and “Intersection” bring us to a crossroad where a renewed sense of community replaces 20th century feelings of isolation. The choice to embrace this change or deny it lies with us.

Beacon Dance presents “Streetscapes” and “Intersections” Nov. 9-11, in the Beacon Hill Arts Center, 410 W. Trinity Place, Decatur. 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat., and 3 p.m. Sun. $12 general admission, $10 students and working artists. For reservations, call 404-377-2929.??