The Dance of the Ocean
Review of Crash by Jacob Jonas The Company at Edmonds Center for the Arts
Written by Elizabeth Josiah during TeenTix’s Dance Journalism Workshop at ECA
A shard of light in the darkness. The constant movement of the ocean, drifting in and out like the guitar’s melody. Swirling whitewater becomes the mesmerizing limbs of a dancer, their rolls across the stage becoming the crest of a wave. Two dancers entangle themselves in a complicated lift, like a whale fluke slipping beneath the surface. Large, sweeping movements echo down the line until the dancers fall and slap the ground loudly, suggesting not just the motion of waves, but also emotion connected with the powerful crash. Okaidja Afroso’s song reverberates, his low voice both emotional and nostalgic, fitting exactly with the background sound of the sea. There are no elaborate costumes, and one musician accompanies the dance. Yet, the elements come together to communicate a personal message that anyone could understand, and in a different way than reading a book or watching a movie. The story painted by Jacob Jonas The Company’s Crash is the ocean, both in its simplicity and its mystery.
Lead Photo: Image of dancers in Crash presented by Jacob Jonas The Company’s at ECA. Photo by Matthew Brush.
The TeenTix Press Corps promotes critical thinking, communication, and information literacy through criticism and journalism practice for teens. For more information about the Press Corps program see HERE.
This review was written as part of a Dance Journalism Workshop at Edmonds Center for the Arts which was held April 30-May 14, 2022. The workshop was taught by Press Corps teaching artist Omar Willey.
