the group work
Collaborating with a somewhat consistent group of performers in New York City, David continues to build dances from disparate choreographic underpinnings, employing singular combinations of composed and improvised material, and heightening the results by variable expansions or compressions in the use of time and space. Each successive piece has allowed him to shape a unique overall progression, as well as reconsidered ways of approaching the performer/audience relationship.
On one level, this work has simply been “about” how the dancers—individually and together—wield their abilities to articulate, play through fluidly, and enliven the path of each dance, celebrating how we can reject rigidity in favor of pliable and vibrant responses to all we encounter and re-create. It is also about support: what we get from others, and that which is present because of our absolute connections with(in) the world around us.
Whether mapping/illuminating how things unfold or embodying a quality of relationship, Appel’s pieces express a sense of possibility, and emanate from his curiosity about how we can more clearly and fully engage each other from moment to moment in a variety of circumstances.
"…The Unfolding Scene is an invitation to observe how we move through life, balancing our personal trajectories with those of the people around us. Appel’s piece asks us to consider the ways in which we meet others, both physically and emotionally, and whether we can, even for a moment, step out of time to truly engage with the present. This meditation on human connection was made all the more poignant by the intelligence and artistry of the dancers, particularly in those duets that felt like conversations taking place in motion.”
The Dance Enthusiast, April 2024