Last Saturday, January 9th, zoe|juniper graced the stage at Abrons Arts Center with the entrancing piece, A Crack in Everything. Choreographed and conceived by Zoe Scofield with set and video designed by Juniper Shuey, the company the company performed with rare elegance and synchronicity. A work in progress, this piece proved divine from the start. A half lowered curtain created a strange sort of world onstage; one in which people don’t walk, but slink. As haunting strings hummed in the background, the four stunning dancers, Scofield, Devin McDermott, Raja Feather Kelly, and Shannon Stewart, danced seamlessly. Moving from sharp to lucid at the blink of an eye, the dancers seemed like mysterious creatures. Beings that are at once terrifying and beautiful, threatening and sexy. Towards the end of the piece, Juniper’s multimedia aspect came emerged, as stars shone against the black stage, as the dancers continued their athletic, quirky movement. If these lights had beamed from an earlier point in the performance, it would have been nothing short of magical. If anything, the Juniper of zoe|juniper came in a bit too late, but when he made his mark, it was much appreciated. Zoe Scofield and Juniper Shuey, along with their company,will be developing A Crack in Everything throughout 2010, and it will premiere in its entirety in the all on 2011, touring through 2012. With two more years of work, A Crack in Everything may prove to be one of the most epic pieces in recent modern dance. But you don’t have to two years to see zoe|juniper perform.
Check out their website (http://web.me.com/zoeandjuniper/www.zoeandjuniper.com/zoe%7Cjuniper.html) for more information on their upcoming projects and performances. For those who are not fans of modern dance, zoe|juniper might be a reason to convert. .
By: Lauren Morrow
