CONTAINED
OCTOBER 4 & 13, 2007

POV Dance made its first appearance in Portland as part of First Thursday with Contained. Anna Todaro opened up The Core, Portland's only 3.5' tall gallery space, for Mandy and Noel to rehearse and finally premier their work. The dance started outside the gallery, drawing the attention of an unsuspecting audience. After gracefully descending a brick wall and demonstrating new uses for an everyday hallway, the duet disappeared through a small doorway. Ushers allowed up to six audience members at a time to follow the dancers into the gallery where simple gestures evolved into full-body athletic dance, all with just over three feet of clearance. Less adventurous audience members viewed the dance via live video feed outside the space. At times claustrophobic, the dance forced the audience to give up personal space and intimately view how much strength and struggle can at once be athletic and gentle. The dance was accompanied by harmonium instrumentalist, Kelvin Pittman.