Threads review, mnfringe show 23, All The Hullabaloo: Though the sky seemed to dump all its water on me just as I was walking to the theater, it was worth the soaking to get to see Lily Conforti and the skilled dancers of Corpus Dance Works stage yet another of their joyous dance parties, this time filled with piles of clothes, boxes of cereal, and the kind of amazing moves only human bodies such as these are capable of; transporting, beautiful and just a whole lot of fun to watch - 5 stars (my Fringe returning favorite write-up)
If you want to have fun watching other people have fun, your easiest bet this Fringe is “All The Hullabaloo” from Corpus Dance Works. Choreographer Lily Conforti and her dancer collaborators (Erin Evans, Kaitlyn Hawkins, Vy Nguyen, Milo Sachse-Hofheimer, Maeve Seymour, and Claire Wilcox) enjoy dancing (and more importantly perhaps, dancing together) so much that their happiness and whimsy is infectious, quickly spreading through the audience as well.
Whether it’s the melancholy WWII ballad “We’ll Meet Again” or the Talking Heads’ buoyant “This Must Be The Place,” Billie Holiday crooning “All of Me,” or a hard rock song, this dance troupe finds a way to slip, slide, twirl, bounce, bop and contort the human form into something that glides or flies around the stage under the Southern Theater’s massive stone proscenium arch and up against its brick back wall, using the whole area to create multiple pictures and stories in different parts of the stage, sometimes overlapping one another.
The Corpus Dance Works artists have seemingly limitless energy and joy to go around, as they push piles of clothes around the stage that act as sort of indoor leaf piles for them to plunge into or explore. They all dress, undress and re-dress themselves and each other many times over the course of the performance. They also use each other for balance, or as a walking path - one dancer being guided in walking across the backs of others, who are in a constantly shifting formation, creating an evolving walkway that traverses much of the stage space during one segment of the show.
In addition to all the vintage clothing flying around, the dancers also eat and throw around a lot of colorful breakfast cereal (the opening cartoon credits projected for the show look to be a doctored version of an old cereal commercial as well). The former stage manager in me recoiled a bit at the stage being covered in cereal during one dance sequence. However during a segment that followed, some of the dancers got brooms and created interesting patterns as they slowly but surely swept up each and every bit of the cereal. (They’ve developed this show in prior presentations before it made it to the Fringe, so they’ve had a chance to figure out the logistics of sweeping up the cereal after flinging it around for a while.)
“All The Hullabaloo” is another happy confection from the Corpus Dance Works folks. It’s really almost impossible to watch them in action and not end up being happy yourself. Though “A Horse Walks Out Onto the Stage and Dies” is probably my favorite Fringe show this year (I’ve already seen it twice), “All the Hullabaloo” is a mighty close second at the top of my list of things I’ve seen so far. If the schedules align, I might catch this one a second time as well. That’s the thing with great dance, especially fun dance like this. It doesn’t get old the more you watch it. It’s just a recurring delight.
Check out “All The Hullabaloo” at the Fringe before it closes (and follow Corpus Dance Works through the rest of the year, too). Have some fun!
5 Stars - Very Highly Recommended
Here's some handy links to coverage of shows I've seen in the Fringe this year getting 5 and 4.5 Stars (Very Highly Recommended), 4 and 3.5 Stars (Highly Recommended) as well as the shows ranking 3 stars or less; also links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to ALL the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.
While I have your attention, please VOTE :)
Minnesota is currently in the early voting period
for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate,
Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to
vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait
until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)
Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th.
We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your
vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and
gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.
As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.
Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.
For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.
Vote. Raise your voice. We're not going back.
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