Did you successfully #adult today?
That’s the question Glade Dance Collective wants you to answer before you can take your seat for Am I There Yet. Do you have a community? Do you have a job? A partner? A child? A house?
Such goals are often considered necessary rites of passage on the path to independence. Those who #adult the most are invited to sit first. As someone who falls just barely in the middle of the adulthood spectrum, I couldn’t help but laugh at myself as I followed the ‘real’ adults down the aisle of the Trinidad Theatre
The Collective is known for its collaborative work that delves into seemingly ordinary aspects of life, and this show does not disappoint. As the dancers flow between solo, small group, and full company numbers, the ensemble-driven energy seamlessly connects the diverse choreography. Every moment is an opportunity for emotional or critical engagement. This piece is an impressive audition to their repertoire, and I highly encourage people of all ages to see this show!
Lights rise as the dancers sprint suicide runs, already on their journey to wherever adulthood begins. Vicariously, I feel exhausted. Perhaps I already felt this way after a 9-to-5 and an early happy hour, and the dancers merely reminded me. The repetitive and taxing motion is at once familiar and alienating, forming an impactful opening moment. So much energy for so little progress.
Am I There Yet?
Created by Glad Dance Collective
Details and tickets
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The scene transitions smoothly into the next sequence. Clad in office attire and bearing coffee cups, the interns and the full-time employees rotate around each other as though they are on conveyor belts. As I watch one of the interns struggle to fall into the robotic rhythm of her colleagues, I twinge, recalling half-sentimental, half-embarrassing memories of my early office experiences.
In just under an hour, the company engages affectionately with romance, home building, raising children, and countless smaller decisions that happen in between. Scattered with refreshing nuggets of humor, the piece is inherently serious and calculating. Two of the more sentimental moments stuck with me after the show, replaying in my mind’s eye.
Near the first half of the piece, six dancers present a series of romantic partnerships, all at varying degrees of discovery, collapse, or commitment. The first couple’s dance is sensual and playful. My heart flutters as they flirt towards an inevitable tango. The second couple’s story is as intense and intimate as the first, albeit differently. The couple’s dance begins united, confident. But, soon, one partner clings too heavily to the other, until she is literally rolling on the ground and tripping her. As they finally separate, another couple enters. This third pairing waltzes gracefully around the stage, maintaining a strong and assured connection throughout their dance. One of them wears a bridal veil.
In one of the final moments, a mother attempts to teach her daughters a lesson. One of them catches on immediately, eager to please and reluctant to fly on her own. The other refuses to listen and creates her own dance in protest. Quickly, you learn that the mother is also responsible for taking care of her mom, the grandmother. As these three generations of women interacted, I was struck by a thought. Young people are often taught that growing up means learning how to take care of yourself. If I took away just one lesson from Am I There Yet, it would be this: the more daunting, yet rewarding, task is learning to take care of others.
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Am I There Yet? featuring: Lauren Borchard, Sylvana Christopher, Emma Dozier, Shauna Edson, Maggie Lockhart, Rachael Mucha, Betsy Loikow, Sarah Raker, Amity Pope . Produced by Glade Dance Collective . Reviewed by Lucette Moran.
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