This looks like fun — and we’re big on fun. But in the hands of whimsical choreographer Lionel Popkin (he’s chair of the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance and professor of choreography and performance at UCLA) this pumped-up pagaent portends much more.
“Inflatable Trio,” choreographed by Popkin and built on human breath, will soon have its premiere as part of the new Performance Lab series at the Skirball Center.
The ever-probing Skirball-tes, always seeking ways to get Los Angelenos in front of their wittily conceived arts programs, have re-purposed a gallery into a venue for dance, theater, and multimedia showcases.
In that space three dancers — Carolyn Hall, Samantha Mohr, Popkin — will perform on and around an inflatable plastic living room set. They persist, react, and cope in a domestic drama expanded beyond walls.
“Inflatable Trio” reminds us that the instruments of dance — human beings — are powered by (among other fuels) oxygen. Americans have become expert, lately, at processing gobs of hot air, really gaseous stuff, in our national political conversation. Let’s see how Popkin puts it to work in a dance concert.
Inflatable Trio | The Skirball Center | February 23 – 25