Review: “Secrets and Seawalls”

A revived version of Kinesis Project dance theatre’s meditation on power and vulnerability takes place aboard a restored 1885 cargo ship.   

The 1885 cargo ship, Wavertree, is the location and star of Secret and Seawalls by Kinesis Project dance theatre. The show about the power and vulnerability of both Battery Seawalls and inner structures of the human psyche premiered in 2015 and took place on the beach in Fort Tilden. This summer, the choreographer of the piece, Melissa Riker, teamed up with South Street Seaport Museum and included the architecture of the restored historical ship in this dance meditation about the strength of physical and mental structures that we create to keep our secretes safe. 

The cast of Secrets and Seawalls in rehearsal

Four dancers: Cassandra Cotta, Andrew Broaddus (stepping in for Zachary Denison), Michelle Amara Micc and Zoe Alloco first appear in the distance, on Pier 11. Their silhouetted figures dance amongst bystanders, moving leisurely from the tip of the pier to the embankment. The ballet in the distance is accompanied by the musicians aboard: Katie Down (glass and percussion), Michael Evans (mixed percussion) and Helen Yee (violin and harmonica). The soothing music continues as the dancers join the audience on the deck, mixing with a subtle traffic hum and horns of ships passing by.

The first, more cohesive part of Secrets and Seawalls doesn’t tell much of a story but succeeds in creating an atmosphere. The ship is gently rocking on the waves and dancers dressed in futuristic, post-apocalyptic costumes by Asa Thornton, explore the architecture of the space through movement. From time to time you hear a whisper of one of the performers behind you, but then it fades away. The magical atmosphere created by music, sounds of the environment, and subtle movement of the ship builds up anticipation, but is never fully realized.  

For the second act, the audience is invited to the upper deck of Wavertree and divided in four groups, a performer attached to each of them. We play a variation of a drinking game where each person in the circle gets to say what they always wanted to do and why they never did it, only you eat a chip or a piece of popcorn instead of drinking, if you agree. Sharing food and intimate information with others creates a powerful force field, which strengthens when a dancer whispers her secret into my ear.

But the moment the connection is established, the dancers abandon their befriended audiences and start interacting with each other through some kind of free dance, occasionally violent and comedic. They mumble and accompany their movements with sounds; at times cartoonish and at times resembling the readings of some dry official documents. The choreography seemed disconnected from the interactive parts, let alone the distractive rapid switch from one to another.  

When making an interactive show involving sharing secrets, you have to be mindful about your audience in an almost therapeutic way. The Kinesis Project happened upon a goldmine during the group experience and one-on-one dialogues, but just disturbed the surface without bringing closure. The idea is worth developing though, as it provides a head-spinning range of distances between the performer and audience member. Secrets and Seawalls starts and ends with the dance that you are watching from a great distance, but bears little moments of intimacy in between.     

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Secrets and Seawalls plays aboard the ship Wavertree, docked at Pier 15 (across from John street) through July 30th, 2017. The running time is 70 minutes with no intermission. Remaining performance is on July 30th at 5. Tickets are $30, VIP tickets are $45 (includes pre-show tour of Wavertree and after show meet and greet with the performers). Tickets are available at:  

www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org/secrets-and-seawalls.

Secrets and Seawalls is choreographed by Melissa Riker. It is produced by Kinesis Project dance theatre. Costumes by Asa Thornton.   

The cast is Cassandra Cotta, Andrew Broaddus (stepping in for Zachary Denison), Michelle Amara Micca, Zoe Alloco.