Performance tonight

Sat, 04/05/2014 - 11:56

Kay Stephens

Power Performance at the Strom Auditorium. (Photo courtesy Spencer Worthley)

Kea Tesseyman, owner of Kinetic Energy Alive and producer, director and choreographer of the show. Photo by Kay Stephens

Courtesy Spencer Worthley

Power Performance at the Strom Auditorium. (Photo courtesy Spencer Worthley)

Kea Tesseyman, owner of Kinetic Energy Alive and producer, director and choreographer of the show. Photo by Kay Stephens

Courtesy Spencer Worthley

CAMDEN—It’s difficult to summarize an ongoing show (with another performance tonight) without revealing its surprises, but suffice it to say, Power Perfomance: Legacy Rising lives 100 percent up to its name.

Kea Tesseyman, producer, director, and choreographer set out to make this an unforgettable show and she did it by taking the personal stories of her students (both adults and teens) and applying their individual struggles in a highly creative expression.

Everybody has setbacks. That's the overall theme of the first act. You might be going along, doing your best and find out one day you have a devastating illness, or the love of your life doesn't want to be with you anymore. Or you're just stuck, mired in self-doubt, when you thought you had a plan.

The people who experience these setbacks are all people we know who work and live in the Midcoast. If any of these stories were simply told through dance alone, that would be interesting enough. But Tesseyman is an innovator. She knows that combining short film clips with wordless narration set to music followed by dance with exhilarating music (amplified in a way that only the Strom Auditorium can deliver) is going to reach down deep into the audience and extract something—and it does. Many in the audience will be surprised at what kind of emotions come to the surface from this multi-layered approach. The final performance of the first act does a 180-degree turn with a funny, upbeat video and performance paying tribute to the originators of hip hop.

The second act focuses on the teens and the kids who study under Tesseyman. It’s the expression of their own struggles, particularly bullying and addiction. If anyone thinks a teen's personal setbacks are any less real than an adults, this theatrical installation delivers a thrilling story arc. The opening scene finds all the teens on stage in the guise of a typical school setting set to the song "Roads" by Portishead. What they act out on that stage in choreographed silent story to music will reveal a truth about self-worth that everyone in the audience will recognize. A fluid performance by martial artist and bullying counselor Chuck Nguyen and Tesseyman anchors the message of this piece beautifully.

Throughout the show, Tesseyman made this about all the people she cares about: her students and her community and her audience.

"What we wish you come away with today is something from this show that inspires you, that sparks a light inside you," she said.

For the performers, it's got to feel pretty naked up there on stage not only to reveal one's own limitations in a video, but then to perform a dance around that concept (many for the first time) in front of a darkened audience. Not all of Tesseyman's dancers could keep up with her level of skill at times in the show, but that wasn't the expectation. They were all there up on stage to overcome their personal limitations and they did it with guts and grace.

This was an outstanding show. Recommended for all ages.

Tonight is the last show and begins at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night, and doors open at 6:25 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance or $17 at the door. Advance purchases are available at HAV II in Camden or by calling 975-4450. Tickets are expected to sell out fast, and everyone is invited to come early for good seats. For more information, visit the Kinetic Energy Alive website.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com