**Crazier Than You**
I
The late [Bob Fosse invoked someone](www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIPGjK1XlSo) at the 1987 Tony Awards presentation, the year that he died at 60, as he introduced Gwen Verdon, still his wife, co-parent and longest-running muse and collaborator. As he phrased it, “It’s been said that the art of choreography is only 50% conception. And that the real test of your talent is getting five or six or however number of people in a room who are just a little crazier than you are and who can try to live out that, ah, that thing in your head. Sometimes, if you’re very lucky, you can find someone who dances it better than you ever dreamed it.”
The very present Elizabeth Streb, now 72, dreamed it, yes, and in many cases also danced it herself when first introduced. But as the evolving “Time Machine” program reveals, she has been very lucky indeed for some time and remains so.
The present company, billed as Action Heroes although I’ve heard Streb refer to them as dancers in rehearsal, retains only Co-Artistic Director Cassandre Joseph-Donnelly and Senior Action Hero Jackie Carlson from among the seasoned cast of eight who premiered the first iteration of this “Streb’s greatest hits” compendium on the outdoor stage at Jacob’s Pillow in mid-August, 2021. This pair may have been in grade school or younger when Fosse spoke. They almost certainly had not been born when Streb first performed *Pole Vault* and *7’43”* in 1978, the oldest two pieces (billed Action Events) on the program that the Dancing Matters (DM) group took in on Saturday, March 25; the second show of “Time Machine’s” nine week run as the company's home season in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I doubt that Streb could have dreamed of two more crazily accomplished and dedicated people to dance it any better.
Joseph-Donnelly and Carlson have been with the company since 2007 and 2008 respectively. They lead an equally committed group listed as three other core company members, each of whom took on a solo in this program, alongside five other Action Heroes, at least three of whom joined the troupe in 2022. You could’ve fooled me.
In a former avocation as a jayvee college hockey player, heads-up team play meant everything to me when bladed sticks, hard rubber frozen disks and sharpened skates would be involved at maximum speed. The Action Heroes have many more objects of concern keeping them in sync and focused. They also seem to have had better practices than we did.
I like to roam whenever I can while taking in a performance, constantly seeking out the best angle with which to see the whole bodies of the performers, including feet, as well as the audience in its moods and reactions. In this, the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics (SLAM) layout, in what had been an industrial loading facility, proved most accommodating. The sometimes bemused smiles and rapt attention I observed from the crowd, including those of not only my Dancing Matters colleagues but also that of a girl of no more than four in the first row on an adult woman’s lap, presaged the highly positive observations and occasional wonderment that characterized the DM post-performance discussion over bites and sips at the nearby Williamsburg Market.
The show reminded one member of a visual artist’s retrospective. Another compared the program to an evening of cinema short subjects. The group discussed another member's irritation at the way the Action Heroes off the playing area would vocally encourage one another, particularly during solos. Having represented a fairly chirpy bench presence during hockey games, these interjections sounded refreshingly familiar to me.
The [”Time Machine”](streb.org/company/#action-heroes) series continues Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, through May 21st, at [the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics (SLAM) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn](streb.org/company/#action-heroes). Action Hero rehearsals there remain free and open to the public in keeping with the Streb Extreme Action tradition of opening SLAM to the entire community to the maximum extent practicable.
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# VOTING OPEN FOR MAY ADVENTURE:
Will close Sunday, April 23, around noon.
Vote here: www.rcv123.org/ballot/9duTKYyirSaRATx8UEGneX
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## **Nominations Open for our May Adventure! **
(nominations will close this Wednesday, May 18, 11:59pm)
Please add yours in the Comments below!
* **Heather Robles / Alma Dance Company & wonderland wizehart: **Saturday, May 6, 8pm @ Green Space, LIC, Queens. [www.greenspacestudio.org/may-2023](www.greenspacestudio.org/may-2023)
* **Dancing While Black: FUTURE:** Dianne McIntyre, Marlies Yearby, Nia Love, Lacina Coulibaly, Christal Brown, Ana “Rokafella” Garcia, Jason Samuels Smith, as well as musicians Jocelyn Pleasant and Imani Uzuri sharing their collective embodiments of thriving, followed by a celebratory dance party for all. Saturday, May 13, 2pm - 6pm @ BAAD!, Westchester Sq, Bronx: [fareharbor.com/baadbronx/items/448366/](fareharbor.com/baadbronx/items/448366/)
* **Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: **Classic Ailey:*** **Night Creature, Reflections in D, Survivors, Revelations*; Saturday, May 13, 8pm @ Prudential Hall, NJPAC, Newark, NJ. [www.njpac.org/event/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater-2/](www.njpac.org/event/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater-2/)
* **Mother’s Day Open House & Block Party: **Donna Uchizono and dancers, Perfect City Map Making** **Community Workshop, Drag Story Hour, Saturday, May 14, 12 – 4pm, @ The Chocolate Factory Theater, LIC, Queens, [chocolatefactorytheater.org/block-party-2023/](chocolatefactorytheater.org/block-party-2023/)
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CRASH COURSE IN EXTREME ACTION! No! You haven't missed it (yet. But you might if you don't visit www.eventbrite.com/e/streb-extreme-action-time-machine-a-journey-thru-strebs-greatest-hits-ticket...) Regular and Pay-As-You-Wish tix still available for Tomorrow , March 25, @ 5 pm!
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Dancing Matters, Dance Parade's "Book Club for Dance" will bring people together in a diverse meetup group centering dance performances and experiences in an open and honest discussion shared in public and online. Inspired by and partially modelled on the Peformance Club founded and run for several years by writer Claudia LaRocco, Dancing Matters invites amateurs, dance professionals and enthusiasts alike to join in the adventure of seeking out dancing worthy of critical consideration and support in the metro New York City area.
 at the 1987 Tony Awards presentation, the year that he died at 60, as he introduced Gwen Verdon, still his wife, co-parent and longest-running muse and collaborator. As he phrased it, “It’s been said that the art of choreography is only 50% conception. And that the real test of your talent is getting five or six or however number of people in a room who are just a little crazier than you are and who can try to live out that, ah, that thing in your head. Sometimes, if you’re very lucky, you can find someone who dances it better than you ever dreamed it.”
The very present Elizabeth Streb, now 72, dreamed it, yes, and in many cases also danced it herself when first introduced. But as the evolving “Time Machine” program reveals, she has been very lucky indeed for some time and remains so.
The present company, billed as Action Heroes although I’ve heard Streb refer to them as dancers in rehearsal, retains only Co-Artistic Director Cassandre Joseph-Donnelly and Senior Action Hero Jackie Carlson from among the seasoned cast of eight who premiered the first iteration of this “Streb’s greatest hits” compendium on the outdoor stage at Jacob’s Pillow in mid-August, 2021. This pair may have been in grade school or younger when Fosse spoke. They almost certainly had not been born when Streb first performed *Pole Vault* and *7’43”* in 1978, the oldest two pieces (billed Action Events) on the program that the Dancing Matters (DM) group took in on Saturday, March 25; the second show of “Time Machine’s” nine week run as the companys home season in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I doubt that Streb could have dreamed of two more crazily accomplished and dedicated people to dance it any better.
Joseph-Donnelly and Carlson have been with the company since 2007 and 2008 respectively. They lead an equally committed group listed as three other core company members, each of whom took on a solo in this program, alongside five other Action Heroes, at least three of whom joined the troupe in 2022. You could’ve fooled me.
In a former avocation as a jayvee college hockey player, heads-up team play meant everything to me when bladed sticks, hard rubber frozen disks and sharpened skates would be involved at maximum speed. The Action Heroes have many more objects of concern keeping them in sync and focused. They also seem to have had better practices than we did.
I like to roam whenever I can while taking in a performance, constantly seeking out the best angle with which to see the whole bodies of the performers, including feet, as well as the audience in its moods and reactions. In this, the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics (SLAM) layout, in what had been an industrial loading facility, proved most accommodating. The sometimes bemused smiles and rapt attention I observed from the crowd, including those of not only my Dancing Matters colleagues but also that of a girl of no more than four in the first row on an adult woman’s lap, presaged the highly positive observations and occasional wonderment that characterized the DM post-performance discussion over bites and sips at the nearby Williamsburg Market.
The show reminded one member of a visual artist’s retrospective. Another compared the program to an evening of cinema short subjects. The group discussed another members irritation at the way the Action Heroes off the playing area would vocally encourage one another, particularly during solos. Having represented a fairly chirpy bench presence during hockey games, these interjections sounded refreshingly familiar to me.
The [”Time Machine”](https://streb.org/company/#action-heroes) series continues Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, through May 21st, at [the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics (SLAM) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn](https://streb.org/company/#action-heroes). Action Hero rehearsals there remain free and open to the public in keeping with the Streb Extreme Action tradition of opening SLAM to the entire community to the maximum extent practicable.](https://danceparade.org/wp-content/plugins/custom-facebook-feed-pro/assets/img/placeholder.png)