The level of rhetoric in America has devolved to sound bites of name-calling, innuendo and shouting. Is this really how we’re choosing to solve social problems? Do we really believe the answers to a growing population, urban sprawl and environmental issues are to be found in televised screaming matches? Panorama, a new piece presented by ANNONYArts, addresses these issues through a provocative blend of modern dance, theater and performance art. Choreographers Summer Beasley, Dawn Karlovsky, MaryAnn Rund and Nicki Tipton-Tallent, working with a group of more than twenty other performers, have devised Panorama to open up conversations about these touchy topics without taking sides. After all, the purpose is not to shout “I’m right” louder than everyone else; the purpose of discussing problems is to find workable, equitable solutions. You do that through dialogue, not monologue. If that dialogue happens to take place through graceful movements, so much the better; the current methods aren’t working out so well for any of us. Maybe a little timeout via modern dance is just what we need. Panorama gets the ball rolling at 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (August 24 through 26), in the Lee Auditorium of the Missouri History Museum (Lindell Boulevard and DeBaliviere Avenue; 314-721-0052 or www.annonyarts.org). Tickets are $8 to $15.
Aug. 24-26
© 2023 Riverfront Times
