The location is not convenient. The venue doesn't have continuous heat. There is only seating for 30 audience members. The stage is small in a vast, open warehouse space. And yet what is created and shared in an evening of the full-length The Nexus Project works. It not only works, but it is one of the most clever, honest, open, daring and unique performances to come around in a long time. Oh, and there's some fiercely fantastic dancing too.
The evening begins simply with Benjamin Wardell, the project's instigator, saying, "Hello everybody." The intimate setting, which Wardell and Michel Rodriguez Cintra created, is complete with hanging quilts serving as wings to the stage and providing a colorful contrast to the white, open space while also holding in the sound.
Fleece blankets adorned with woodland creatures wait on chairs for the audience to use as cushions, blankets or capes. Stacks of fluffy socks on a table encourage the audience to take off their shoes, relax, and stay a while. The performers themselves refresh wine, which is included with a donation of $5 or more.
It feels more like a quiet evening around a campfire with 30 close friends than a dance concert, except instead of a fire in the center, there is gravity-defying partnering paired with intense, extreme dancing. One notable section has Cintra running in circles constantly around the space as Wardell gives a 12-minute monologue about memories from his childhood that leave the audience and the dancer in tears. Another deemed "the Climbing section" drops jaws as Wardell performs an extended section of floorwork with Cintra standing ( or climbing ) on top of him.
The Nexus Project, a venture of Snap Incorporated, started nearly two years ago as an idea by Wardell, a former dancer at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, to explore male duets. His "two-man show" eventually turned into a groundbreaking way of creating. Once he chose his partner Cintra, they worked with 12 different local choreographers who set duets on the duo in varying styles from contemporary to jazz to breakdancing. The second part of the creative process involved Wardell and Cintra "re-contextualizing" the choreography by remixing the movement phrases and changing up the music. Eventually, they added in storylines and text.
The two dancers had never worked together before beginning on Nexus, but now are fast friends. "He's my emergency contact," said Wardell. "It was intriguing to go into the project not knowing each other. I've never had as thorough a partnership with anyone. I've gotten to know him so well. We took a six-week break over the summer and when we came back, we had to talk for an hour and a half to understand where we were. There was no way we could dance together without knowing what was going on; we were way past that physical interaction. It's subtle enough that his mood affects how I partner him."
Another interesting aspect in the male partnership is the dynamic in the dancing. In a male/female partnership, the man has a distinct role to play. Here they switch things by partnering each other, but the openly gay Wardell takes the more traditional male part doing the majority of the lifting and manipulation of Cintra, who is straight.
Wardell was particularly intrigued by the limitless possibilities with Cintra in particular, who is known for his Michael Jordan-like hang time in his jumps and his acrobatic attack. "The upper body strength ratio ( with men ) makes a huge difference in what you can do," he said. "And his magical jump makes a huge difference in partnering options. The scale of physicality that we can achieve…some of that is male/male stuff, but some of that is him. He's a freak of nature."
Choreographers of original source material include Francisco Avina, Nicolas Blanc, Autumn Eckman, Jonathan Fredrickson, Daniel Haywood, Ron de Jesus, Khecari ( Julia Rae Antonick and Jonathan Meyer ), Harrison McEldowney, Matthew McMunn, Julia Rhoads, Penny Saunders and Robyn Mineko Williams.
The Nexus Project is holding performances at Mana Fine Arts, 2233 S. Throop Ave., through Sunday, Dec. 1. Performances are Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 5 p.m. Tickets are pay-what-you-can. Reservations are encouraged at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/480070. ( Note: There will be no performances Saturday, Nov. 16, or Friday, Nov. 22. )
