We went to Fresh Tracks at Dance Theater Workshop last night, plus went to the opening for Dearraindrop at John Connelly Presents -- no web page, so see the announcement on Flavorpill.

Fresh Tracks is exactly the kind of thing I look for at DTW: a showcase of emerging choreagraphers and performance artists. Beyond a doubt the highlight of the show was the last work: "American Crane Standards" by Ann Liv Young. The title comes from a brand of toilets -- the company no longer exists -- which are carried out by the two dancers at the beginning of the piece. I have borrowed an image from her web site so you can see an example. It's a photo of one of the truly great moments in the work, so I hesitated to put it up.

I'm a lousy dance critic -- I just know what I like -- so I will post the New Yorker blurb that recommended seeing her:

Ann Liv Young's madcap choreography mocks strip-club routines, cheerleading, and feminine demureness with dancers who know how to flout the male gaze while flaunting their stuff. This week, only days after her college graduation, Young presents "American Crane Standards" as part of Dance Theatre Workshop's "Fresh Tracks" showcase of up-and-coming choreographers. Two women in mint-green skirts and chiffon blouses lug parti-colored toilets onto the stage and undertake a synchronized dance, responding to verbal cues barked from offstage. The toilets, pink, green, and yellow, coordinate perfectly with the deadpan dames who straddle them, performing midair splits. Endlessly inventive, tacitly confrontational, the show is as fun to discuss as it is to watch.

She also does purses and skirts. Maybe I can commission an interesting bag. I at least need to get her in touch with my friend Kim Johnson, who runs Johnson on Orchard Street.

Update: Here is a video of an excerpt of the piece: