A World Of Pure Imagination

I told you to go see Ernesto Neto at the Armory. I’m sorry I didn’t invite you to come see the dance performance there yesterday. It was easily, one of the coolest things I’ve seen in years. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures during the performance, but I took some pictures of the installation. It is one of the most sensuous experiences you will get to walk through.

You walk through tunnels of nylon stretched across wooden, skeletal ribs. Sacks of spices hang down, affecting different spaces with smells of cumin or lavender or even cayenne pepper. There are places to take your shoes off and walk across brightly colored rugs made of bits of soft nylon that tickle your feet, huge bean bags to lay back in and stare up at the patterns of the wispy material structure. There’s even ball pit!

On the night of the performance, as we were all wandering through the installation, eyes wide, mouth agog a handful of violins and cellos and other string instruments moved amongst us and started to play long, ethereal and moaning chords. Jenn spread her arms and fell backward into the pearlescent ball pit with a laugh and then came up with a, ‘look out behind you!’

A tall, powder white man, naked to the waste was gliding up behind me. His eyes didn’t even register that I was there. A long, grey velvet skirt trailed behind him as well as more people dressed in a similar way. Apparently, the performance had started.

The dancers moved through the crowd, without regards to the viewers. It felt like we were standing in the midst of a long-forgotten cult or maybe they were a subterranean race going about their daily rituals. The glided through us, stopping here and there. The men carried the women on their shoulders or cantilevered on their thighs. Soon the graceful slides gave way to more spastic movement, they hopped up and down or dropped to their knees. And soon they were moving as though their bones were beginning to calcify, necks cocked at near impossible angles. They crumpled to the ground, writhing and shedding their velvet skirts and dresses. Until the music ended. The droning quieted. A spattering of applause, the dancers draped the velvet about themselves and quietly exited. The applause grew louder.

I felt like I got to be part of something special.