If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, those intentions often make a stop at the Joyce Theater. This small theater in Chelsea hosts many experimental modern dance projects. Some of these experiments work beautifully, others do not. Unfortunately, Herman Cornejo’s Anima Animal (a reimagining of Vaslav Nijinsky’s unrealized vision of a ballet) falls within the latter category.
The program notes actually provide a detailed synopsis. It is inspired by the indigenous Guaraní people’s legend of the mystical Urataú bird. The genesis of Planet Earth, the adventures of Guyra, an indigenous warrior, a flood, and then, “Amid the chaos, Guyra, in a moment of confusion and desperation, injures a white man with an arrow – an act that inadvertently takes the life of his beloved Yvy. In a poignant moment of transformation, Guyra metamorphoses into a bird, soaring into the darkness toward a celestial eternity”.
But what happened onstage was disconnected from the synopsis. It was instead a rather drab, generic modern dance. The group dances did not convey a flood, or much of anything. If there hadn’t been that synopsis in the program, I would have thought the piece was plotless.
The visuals and aesthetics of this piece were unappealing. All the dancers were dressed in brown leggings, the lighting was extremely dark. The music by Luis Maurette “Uji” and Noelia Escalzo was loud, piercing electronica, but without any beat or melody. I actually love electronica music. It can give a propulsive rhythm to a dance. For instance, Ronald K. Brown often uses Afro-Caribbean electronica club music for his ballets, and they practically have audiences dancing in their seats. But this electronica music just meandered.
The only reason to see this was Herman Cornejo. This beloved ballet dancer still has charisma to spare, but for most of the 55-minute piece he was actually in the background. The other dancers (from an Argentine troupe Grupo Cadabra) were fine but the choreography did not hold much interest.
What were they saving him for? Turns out, for a long final solo which was basically, “I’m Herman Cornejo, watch me soar”. The music finally had a melody, and Cornejo melded modern dance moves with his traditional bag of ballet tricks: a double assemblé, a few pirouettes. A lot of jumps, a fitting tribute to both Nijinsky’s legendary elevation and the fact that Cornejo is supposed to portray a bird. The solo was a hit with the audience. Curtains.
I admire Argentinian Cornejo trying to piece together this project with an all-Argentine creative team. Dancers should always remember where they came from. And I admire the fact that this is a tribute to Vaslav Nijinsky, a dancer whom Cornejo seems to have striking similarity to. Both are/were short, powerful, known for their soaring jumps and captivating stage presence.
But ultimately, Anima Animal did not hold enough choreographic interest for repeat views. It comes across as a well-meaning failure.
