BLOG
tuning up—only 12 days!
Upstage right, hands on shoulders, then neck and back, compact and sinuous, Amber Willett and Jim Kent sway side to side, spiraling downwards through a series of maneuvers, like bodily sleight of hand. At the [...]
glancing backward – and ahead
2012 brought new horizons, new challenges and new triumphs to Whim W'Him, now ensconced as the resident dance company of Intiman Theatre (recently renamed Playhouse at the Seattle Center). As a salute to the past [...]
moving onward – Mia Monteabaro
Mia Monteabaro has a knack for letting each stage in her development to contribute to the next, so that even setbacks fuel further growth. She grew up in Santa Barbara. Starting out young—as competitive gymnasts [...]
collaborating – The Sofa costumes
Conceiving, designing, and building the costumes for Olivier Wevers’s The Sofa* at Grand Rapids Ballet was truly a cooperative venture. Olivier described the effect he wanted. GRB artistic director Patricia Barker supplied leotard patterns for [...]
soaring – Patricia Barker
In Vienna The most renowned ballerina yet to come out of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Patricia Barker recently commissioned Whim W’Him artistic director Olivier Wevers’s The Sofa for Grand Rapids Ballet Company. It will receive its first Seattle performances in January 2013.* Now [...]
trying out – Kyle Matthew Johnson
Kyle Matthew Johnson, the one male among Whim W’Him’s newest cohort of dancers, was born in Tacoma, WA and grew up participating in all sorts of art forms. He drew; he painted; he performed in [...]
crossing boundaries – Aviad Arik Herman
Aviad Arik Herman was in Seattle a couple of weeks ago to work with his costume designs for Crave, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s new Whim W’Him piece. The fact that many modern dance choreographers (including Annabelle [...]
choosing 2 – Back, sack and crack (continued)
Whim W’Him artistic director Olivier Wever’s new piece, showing through December 9 at Spectrum Dance Theater,* addresses the immense sense of freedom gained from being allowed to think of oneself as beautiful, as an object [...]
choosing 1- Back, sack and crack
Sexuality, identity and conformity were, in my initial reading, the themes of Back, sack and crack.* But I was curious about Whim W'him artistic director Olivier Wever’s own thoughts on choreographing the piece, and in [...]
watching – at Spectrum Dance Theater
It’s the first time in ages, several years actually, since I’ve seen something new by Whim W’Him artistic director/choreographer Olivier Wevers without having discussed it with him ahead of time. Aside from knowing that it [...]
About the writer
Victoria Farr Brown is a former historian, a writer, now mostly of fiction, and a long-time lover of dance. She has written about Whim W’Him from its first steps in 2009.