First night: Roma, February 3, 2010
The Momix choreographic etudes balance on the verge between a dance performance and a brain-twister. Quite often a spectator is unable to figure out where the bodies of the dancers end and his own imagination begins. In 2010 Pendleton and his troupe set out on the world tour with their new ballet Botanica that critics had already labeled as “the grandiose dance mystification” and “reconsideration of the nature of human body
Correspondent.net
Moses Pendleton's latest creation for MOMIX follows the rhythms of the New England seasons, but also the evolution of the world and the passing of a day. Flowers bloom, go to seed and die; vegetable, animal and mineral - all in human form - combine and metamorphose. Fabrics, colors, costumes, projections and props, custom-made by Michael Curry, create a landscape populated by the creations of Pendleton's original, whimsical, mythical imagination. An herbal remedy for the winter blues, Botanica is an event not to be missed.
Pendleton, who founded Momix in 1981, draws on his decades of experience as a dancer-choreographer, lighting/costume/video-projection designer, and maker of intricate musical “collages” to construct visual puns that can be funny – and surrea.
…gasp-inducing ‘effects’ that leave you wondering how his 10 impeccably rehearsed dancers (who are also gymnasts, contortionists, and masters of physical comedy) managed to do whatever the just did.
Botanica is both lyrical and erotic.
The Philadelphia Inquirer