Soluq’s Eye on Women’s Experience and the Breath which Follows Effort

By Sharon M. Chin

A lone woman emerges on the stage, draped in translucent billowing linen, moving slowly to the ethereal sounds of composer Arvo Pärt. At times, she moves with lightness and grace and at other moments as if being pulled off balance. Two women, similarly dressed, stand along the walls solemnly observing. With their facial expressions stoic and only their eyes active, their thoughts remain unknown. To watch these observers stand silently on the sidelines can feel unnerving and draws awareness to our own attention, gaze, and effect on the stage and its performers. And thus begins Nunc Dimittis, Soluq Dance Theater’s women’s ensemble piece with its reflection on women as custodians of beauty and as subjects of gaze.

For those familiar with Catholic and other Christian traditions, Nunc Dimittis is a hymn based on the Gospel of Luke and is often used in services of evening worship. Latin for “now you dismiss,” it refers to the moment in which parishioners have paid their penance and are considered cleansed from sin until the following mass. It is traditionally a moment of lightness. Soluq Dance Theater artistic director, Kevin Joseph Clark, and the company members, however, note that for women, feminine ideals, and feminine energy, subjected to the forces of active and passive gazes, more heavy and complex sensations are likely to emerge. And this weight, which can continue even after no longer being gazed upon, can stem from both self and societal objectification and subjectification. Kevin notes “The female identity and female form is never taken as it is- but rather it’s taken from the identity of the viewer. Subject to the gaze of others, the female form is often viewed with an additional frame. For example, women must suffer with dignity or if a woman dresses up, she must be dressing up for someone else.” Soluq Dance Theater, recognizing the heaviness and burden of this weighted gaze, ponders via the movement of Nunc Dimittis how this gaze can pull one off balance and yet how one can still recover.

The task and sensation of being pulled off balance and recovering served as the original genesis engine for the movement quality of Nunc Dimittis and reflects Soluq Dance Theater’s dance creation philosophy. Established in 2015 by Kevin Joseph Clark, Soluq Dance Theater is a NYC-based contemporary dance company that creates highly physical and nuanced work, thick with rigor and effort, that “trusts in sensation as a guide.” The word “soluq” comes from the Azerbaijani term that refers to the breath that follows effort–a breath quality akin to panting or the sensation of rushing pulse and quick breath. With the dancers moving both lithely and forcefully, it is a concept the dancers wholly embody as they perform. Kevin recalls “back in 2014, during the work’s original inception, the group probed on the question of ‘How can we be pulled off balance and recover?’ and “a female dancer allowed the weight of her arm to pull her back, back, and further back until she had to succumb to it.” Kevin and his team iteratively probed on this sensation and the question of “What does a body look like when it must go through so much effort?”

The dancers create an atmosphere where sensations from physical movements are palpable to the observer. At a Gibney Dance Center performance, dancer Nikki Thereoux stands out in a Janus-faced moment when her body yearns to walk forward as her hands simultaneously grasp at the base of her ponytail, pulling her back. At other moments, the three female dancers move in unison together, adopting a tableau posture akin to the three Graces, Greek goddesses of charm, beauty, and creativity; with heads bowed as their billowy shirts fill with light, the three dancers evoke a sense of calm before they release themselves into their air or ground themselves to the floor. The three may dance cooperatively or at times seem to restrain one another; for example, one dancer may move, but fixed in place and without direction, as she is held aloft by her two peers. In a critical moment, the dancers each raise a single hand tentatively until those hands each ultimately form a fist. Kevin notes “The idea of a raised fist is counter to the idea of what a feminine identity has been historically across many cultures- but women can be aggressive, violent, and physically powerful. Having women present themselves as aggressive, assertive physical forms dominating the space they inhabit felt critical to this piece.”

Kevin, as a male choreographer working on a women’s piece, recognized the importance of collaboratively working with his dancers on this piece. Former dancer, Lir Katz notes “during the creative process, each female dancer referenced their own history of self-objectification or subjectification to see how it relates to identity and identity building. Our experiences were the foundation.” Kevin considered his role as an activist and viewer and noted “I identify as a feminist and it felt wrong for me to not express my support of feminism in the language I work best in. I was very conscious of working collaboratively with my female dancers. To create this piece without consideration of the male gaze and perspective, however, felt myopic and it was my role to serve as that lens. I was especially focused on what was considered gendered and to showcase that each human form is capable of that same ending..”

Nunc Dimittis feels ethereal- given the music of Arvo Pärt and Christopher Tignor, illuminated lighting choices, and movement that often feels graceful. When we consider women’s long pedestaled societal role as custodians of beauty and virtue and the name of the piece, we are also apt to think of women’s roles as angels. For Soluq, ethereal is applied to Nunc Dimittis with a different meaning- “as a word that lacks form and provides a feeling more so than a specific form. We recognize that we can’t put the idea of feminism or subjectification or gaze in a box. All things occur in an ethereal state for the viewer- and Soluq seeks to leave enough space for each viewer to get lost.” Kevin notes that Soluq seeks to provide art that probes relevant and hard cultural questions. “to allow the audience to get lost in something that is unfamiliar, and to leave space for people to form those opinions after.”

Despite Nunc Dimittis’ light and ethereal qualities, there’s a heaviness to Nunc Dimittis and a lack of resolution as the piece ends- both tonally with the music and with the composition itself. If activist art defines its success in how we use arts to self-examine and explore critical issues in our society, Nunc Dimittis is not be limited to bodies moving on a stage or a description of movement to music. Nunc Dimittis moves beyond what physically happens on stage. It evokes a story, perhaps not a narrative story, and leaves us to discuss what our eyes have seen, and from where we as a viewer have just been dismissed.

More from Kevin Clark and Soluq Dance Theater

Where can we see your work next? Our next show is with Dumbo Dance Festival! Details coming soon . Follow us at Soluq Dance Theater and on Instagram for more.

What are you working on? “ShadowLand is our upcoming evening length work exploring how we act, feel, and respond to living in a system where distrust, isolation, and loneliness are pervasive. The piece is influenced by grunge, metal, progressive rock, and being lied to by the government. It's developed with a new immersive modality we're calling the Architectural Audience. We're expecting a November 2019 Premiere.”

How did you start dancing? “As a child, I had a very active imagination and used to do kung fu and martial arts. I started more formal dance training at 17 when a former girlfriend appealed to my sense of vanity and persuaded me to use my strength to lift and pick her up for aerial swing choreography. In college at the University of New Mexico, I studied and became enamored of dance- falling in love with the virility of it- and with its ability to express and explore emotions deeply.”

When did you shift from becoming a dancer to a choreographer? “I started my dance training late- and always had a recognition that others will forever be able to dance technically better than I can [Although many of the modern male dancer greats, e.g. Ohad Naharin, can and do start late]. I found that I loved composing more than dancing and shifted to focus more on creating a moving image, a moving idea of energy and space, and the ability to speak through the body.”

Soluq Dance Theater’s Ash; Credit: Soluq Dance Theater — Soluq Dance Theater’s *Ash*; Credit: Soluq Dance Theater

What are some of your biggest influences? “I would describe my choreography as often being rhythmic, which stems from my lindy hop background, and I’ve always been very interested in the texture of the body. I’ve trained a lot in Gaga, and Gaga is about investigating different textures and activation of the body to explore and create new language- e.g. the softness of it, and use of inner demons to change how one moves or relates to space. The voice is something that emerges as a way of how we use the body versus using a specific body concept (e.g. falling or twirling).”

Who are you watching? “I’m watching my dancers. They inspire me, push me artistically, and are so amazing as artists in their own right. As far as other companies, I'm very inspired by my peers right now who are pushing boundaries, raising their voices, questioning the field and deepening knowledge all the while. I am particularly following: AnA Collaborations , Coleman Collective, and Bobbi Jene Smith.

What’s one fun fact? “I love to eat pancakes- though I don’t get to do that often. Blueberry pancakes with syrup.”

Published: July 8, 2019