Set to musical arrangements of Eric Satie and drummer Victor Lewis, the score also includes interviews with people representing both right- and left-wing viewpoints. The tone of the performance is generally light and breezy; Osserman manages to avoid treating this over-wrought subject with a heavy hand.

As a soft hum of jazzy drums starts to play, dancers Milan Misko and Cori Kresge enter from the back of the small theater, heads bobbing like chickens, eyes alert, scanning the scene. Both dressed in dark suits, Misko takes the lead as Kresge dutifully echoes his movements—the image of an eager campaign aide comes to mind. The movement itself appears loosely choreographed; the dancers frantically gesticulate their hands and then casually traipse about the space, seemingly without any clear purpose or intention. Misko at times looks to be psyching himself up for his big campaign speech, while Kresge keeps her place behind him, always moving, yet never in the spotlight.

The second section, “Forward or Back” takes a literal approach, pairing Misko with Cara Heerdt to execute a prolonged series of wobbly balances that reach in opposite directions as the two move forward and back along a diagonal line. Heerdt occasionally swivels her hips seductively, and when the two finally make contact, it seems inevitable that Misko is about to jeopardize his political ambitions for a passing distraction. The deal is sealed when Heerdt pitches over into what is known in yoga as a “downward dog,” extending her back leg to reach to Misko and beckoning him back to her with her foot. When Misko meets his political rival— a striking Lauren Ferguson—the two struggle to gain the upper hand, even pacing dramatically around each other. Subtlety of messaging is not a cornerstone of this work; Osserman clearly drew direct inspiration from the characters and situations that typically accompany any sort of political campaign.

Osserman herself appears several times throughout the piece, often accompanied by text that pits progressives against conservatives; this ideological split is reflected in the lighting, which alternately illuminates and darkens halves of the stage. As if trying to guide the discussion, Osserman stands center stage, directing traffic with her hands before finally giving up; apparently the effort of making opposing sides listen to each other is just too much.

Osserman’s movement follows the light, improvisational vein established early in the piece; it often appears that her body is making its own decisions about what it wants to do—sometimes she tries to control it, and sometimes she just goes with it.

This sort of tooling around does not make for particularly engaging choreography, but it does alleviate some of the predictability of the subject matter.
EYE ON THE ARTS, NY -- Jessica Moore