The Relaxing Trance of Crash

I have known about Jacob Jonas The Company for a little bit. When I found out that they were coming to Seattle, I had to go and see their show called Crash. The waves off of the Santa Monica Pier inspired this show and it included the waves and their height/positions that were scientifically researched. For him, Jacob Jonas said that the ocean was a place of healing and relief. This show offered precisely that.

Crash began in the darkness and silence, and you could tell people were afraid to make even the slightest noise not to destroy the pre-show mood. The light slowly came on from the left of the stage, it was a soft white light. This was the sunrise; the dancer's bodies were covered with this one-sided light, and they looked so peaceful. A couple of solos started, then more and more joined in laying on the ground and making wave shapes with their body. It looked exactly like a wave shape you would see in the ocean. The waves were formed with their legs in their hands, moving in ½ second counts. Gradually, dancers got up one by one, with each performing a solo before they went back into the ocean formation. This reminded me of big waves hitting the beach and then going back in the water. The music was the kind you hear in morning meditations: slow, twinkly, and full of energy. The dancers' movements were soft, and they expressed the music perfectly. It was more like the music wasn't for them, but they were there for the music.

There was a lot of change in the dynamic of the movements, from big jumps and turns to rolling over on the ground. When the soloists were dancing one by one, it reminded me of the rogue waves you would see in the open water, tiny ripples in the water formed by the group of dancers, and the big waves by the soloists. The fluid movements of their bodies looked very beautiful. The sounds of waves are what made this dance so peaceful to watch. It felt like I was on the most beautiful beach in the world, I could imagine myself hearing the waves crash, and a live person represented each tiny ripple and wave.

You could tell the time, morning, afternoon, dusk, sunset, and night in this entire dance. There was an obvious beginning, middle, and end. The dancers all moved throughout the stage as the sun would move throughout the day.

For instance, when the sun was setting the wave movements started to look calmer and more tired. You could hear the dancers breathing and jumping; now, the stage light was the perfect golden hour light. The music was once calm again, but it wasn't the same calm as the sunrise. It was the kind of music you might turn on to relax in the evening after a long day.

The costumes are something I paid attention to too, the color was a very calm grayish blue. This represented the different shades of the ocean, the white accents on the costumes showed the white crest that comes with the breaking waves. Some wore loose pants and shirts, and some wore spandex shorts and tight shirts. There was a good balance in what the dancers wore. I think the costumes were good in that I focused on the movement and music more than what the costumes were, but they were such a big part that I don't think the dance would be the same without them.

Overall I left this show in a dreamy and calm mood. Watching this dance put me in a relaxing trance that made me never want to leave. I think the choreographers did a fantastic job incorporating movements that can be made fluid by the dancers to represent the waves. I would see it again, and this time I would bring some friends.

Lead Photo: Image of dancers in Crash presented by Jacob Jonas The Company’s at ECA. Photo by Matthew Brush.

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This review was written as part of a Dance Journalism Workshop at Edmonds Center for the Arts which was held April 30-May 14, 2022. The workshop was taught by Press Corps teaching artist Omar Willey.