Dancers Move Us

On Sunday afternoon, Jan. 8, during a brief pause in the rain and wind, chemistry ignited passion and emotions in all that were present in SandBox. The eMotion in Music program was a collaboration between the musicians: Oboist Gabe Young, violinist, Yuri Cho, violist David Samuel and cellist, Michelle Djokic and the 5 of the fellows of the first Carmel Dance Festival. Guggenheim fellow and Stanford professor, Alex Ketley created the choreography. The main collaboration was based on the music of Latvian composer, Peteris Vasks in his "Castillo Interiors" for violin and cello. The young dancers brought Ketley's vision to life breathing as one with each other and with the musicians. Given the intimacy of SandBox, not a gesture, expression or breath was missed. To end what felt like a deeply profound and spiritual journey shared by everyone present the musicians were joined by singer Malinda DeRouen for a reading of Stevie Wonder's Village Ghetto. A fellow from the Carmel Dance Festival improvised as Malinda sang the very powerful song. The experience was made even more impactful upon learning that our young dancer had recently found herself homeless and living out of her car until she could get her feet on the ground, so to speak. The walls of SandBox are still awash with the glorious sound of Gabe Young's virtuosic oboe playing. He was equally comfortable improvising the cadenza of the Mozart oboe quartet as he was improvising in Village Ghetto, such versatility! The ensemble playing seemed effortless from our musicians and complimented the physical and artistic flexibility of the young dancers. We look forward to future collaborations that inspire us all!