I heard about Open Spaces Summer Soup through hearsay a few years ago: it was supposed to be a fun outing, an eclectic mix of offerings that would showcase the young organizations’ style, talent, and relationships with other dancers in the community. It was something I’d always wanted to see. Having missed my scheduled review of the company’s spring show due to illness, I got the chance to try Summer Soup this August.

On Friday, August 16, I arrived at the show at Oregon Contemporary, Open Space’s partial home. I walked through one of the galleries, which were decorated in pool party decor and filled with bubbly guests, grabbed a drink from the concession stand, then settled into a seat at Disjecta Studio, where Open Space holds classes and often performs.

Once the crowd had calmed down, artistic director Franco Nieto—who was also a featured artist that night—and executive director Charlene Hannibal stepped forward to greet the crowd and share exciting news: Two hours earlier, they had officially learned that Open Space was now a nonprofit organization.

Open Space has been funded up to this point, with Oregon Contemporary lending its 501(c)3 status to accept tax-deductible donations. As Hannibal noted, with its own nonprofit status, Open Space would be able to spread its wings and fly a little more on its own. Nieto also explained that the show would include work from Open Space’s professional company as well as its sister company LED Boise, choreographed by Lauren Edson.

“Upstairs Neighbor,” choreographed by Nieto in collaboration with the dancers of Open Space, opened the show. The presence of the fog machine can hardly be overstated that evening, and it opened the performance by spraying a blast of fog into the room just before Annie Borden—in a green suit with an open jacket and taped chest—and Ariel Clarke—in a plaid skirt and puff-sleeved top—began their dance.

The gender play was evident in both the costumes and the spectrum of male and female energy that ran through this powerful, abstract duet. Borden’s performance was sharp and precise, accentuated by a slicked-back hairstyle that lifted Clarke up. Clarke, on the other hand, danced with more overt emotionality, jumping from a reclining position to a kneeling position with a flourish. The dancers pulled up a line of green tape that had divided the center of the room. This removal of a false barrier evoked a more complex partnership—an application of force and physics that seemed to unfold organically. The piece ended abruptly, and the audience could only guess at the consequences of these dancers’ exchanges.

After another cloud of fog filled the room, street dancer NØIR entered the room to perform an improvised solo, drawing on his rich experience in hip hop freestyle, popping and animation, among other styles. Contemporary dance performances often draw heavily on the syntax of street and club performances, and NØIR’s solo brought this into the room. He wore a black turtleneck and baggy trousers that added structure to his movements.

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Watching NØIR elaborately articulate his joints reminded me once again that sometimes the most enjoyable dance is one that shows me what’s happening, rather than overwhelming me with grandiosity. He executed a seamless aikido roll, moving through creative trajectories between standing and floor work with elegant simplicity. The sophistication of NØIR’s improvisation provided a strong counterpoint and context for the rest of the program, making it a standout experience.

A group of blue-clad dancers cheekily delivered some stage material – a carpet, a table, four chairs, four glasses and a jug of milk – for the next performance, “MILK,” and then left the stage. This work, choreographed by Lauren Edson of LED Boise, was centered on Borden, Clarke, Nieto and Jordan Isadore.

These four dancers danced groovily in their red-accented 1950s-style outfits at the beginning of the piece. Then, one by one, the three dancers lunged at Clarke, grabbing her in a way that made me feel uncomfortable. Other partnered moments in this work felt odd, as if the dancers were testing and trying out a series of experiments—for example, when the dancers spun Nieto upside down on his upright legs.

Eventually, the cast paused around the table. Clarke, staring blankly, overfilled a jug of milk, and then Nieto and Isadore got into a violent physical altercation. Danced to a breathtaking standard, “MILK” was both unsettling and a little too familiar, drawing on the stereotype of the ’50s housewife, or, in today’s jargon, the traditional wife. Conceptually, though, I see value in returning to this theme. How far have we really come as a culture in terms of family dynamics that are still rife with gender violence and unrealistic expectations?

After a brief intermission, the evening closed with “An Arm and a Leg,” a rollicking ensemble number by Lauren Edson featuring seven dancers—the same ones dressed in blue from the earlier scene change—representing both Open Space and LED Boise: Audrey Wells, Cassidy Fulmer, Cardin Chung, CJ Hankins, Cydney Covert, Elise Gonsalves, and Nell Rollins. The work required the dancers to both sing and move experimentally, using wordplay with binomial pairs to explore the limits and potentials of language. It began and ended with the imaginative song “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell.

So much happened during this performance: The dancers debated the choreographic merits of “this or that” while manipulating the passive Covert into various positions. Wells attempted a tricky interrogation and decoding of the phrase “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.” Rollins stunned with electrifying sidelong glances while attempting to dance “Dysfunction” to demanding instructions from self-appointed director Fulmer. Toward the end of the piece, Chung unleashed a vocal and physical fit that was equal parts performative devotion and skill.

Some of the lengthy dances during “An Arm and a Leg” left me a little perplexed, struggling to connect the dots with the ideas that had been so deftly developed in the previous sections. But overall, this work illuminated Edson’s mastery of choreographing theatrical dances as well as the dancers’ skills in performing them. As the conclusion to this eclectic program, this work embodied the dynamic talents of Open Space and its extended community. If this evening was any indication, this young 501(c)3 organization will be cooking up exciting summer soups for audiences for a long time to come.

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