Viewing Dance Actions and Audience Reactions in a Mirror By JACK ANDERSON "Just Two Dancers" was what the John Jasperse Company called its unusual new work on May 25 at Dance Theater Workshop in Manhattan. There were indeed just two dancers: Mr. Jasperse, who was responsible for the production's concept, direction and visual design, and his collaborator, Juliette Mapp. This imaginative piece could also have been called ``Look Here,'' for it emphasized the act of looking. In addition to the stage, the dancing took place on platforms in various locations inside the auditorium, replacing chairs where some audience members might ordinarily sit. No one anywhere could see all platforms simultaneously. Yet because the dancers roamed everywhere, to electronic music by Chris Peck, theatergoers were given hand mirrors so they could observe anyone behind them. Like children playing copycat games, the dancers moved from the stage into the auditorium and then from platform to platform performing identical gestures. Other sequences were also playful, among them some giddy bouncings. At one point, Ms. Mapp leaned from a platform to peek into a spectator's mirror. Later, an obliging theatergoer helped her stand up. Other scenes were emotionally intense. When the dancers were far apart on the stage, its white floorcloth resembled a vast snowfield separating them. What began as an embrace on one platform turned into an ordeal, for the dancers found themselves painfully stuck together. They came unglued, and the work concluded sadly with Mr. Jasperse sitting alone on the stage making signaling gestures while Ms. Mapp remained sprawled on a platform. There was much to look at, for when you gazed into your mirror at the dancers, you saw yourself and everyone around you as well. and you could easily appraise your neighbors' actions and reactions. Perhaps, then, ``Just Two Dancers'' wasn't an accurate title: everyone in the theater became part of the show. Source: The New York Times

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