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July 14 and 15, 2005 Barnevelder Movement Arts Complex By Linda Phenix

The Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble presented a concert on July 14 and 15 at Barnevelder Movement Arts Center, Houston’s fun and relatively new hot spot for performance events.

First on the bill was “Voices in My Head.” This piece, a blending of sounds and images from the Belizean Rain Forest, is a collaboration between composer Arthur Gottschalk and free-lance filmmaker Yunuen Perez Verti. “Voices in My Head” is an elegant pairing of music with visual art.

Arthur Gottschalk’s score integrates bird songs, the twittering of insects, and other sounds unique to the rain forest with pleasing melodies and rhythms suggesting the steady beat of life cycles. Of special interest is the variety of pitches from the natural world, which Gottschalk blends with his music to create an imaginative composition. The music is textured, and colorful. It is a fine weaving that speaks to the mysteries and complexities of ecosystems. Percussionist Alec Warren was on hand to play singing bowls and other instruments, adding a rich layer to Gottschalk’s recorded piece.

The accompanying video by Yunuen Perez Verti connects images of humans with animal and plant life in a visual treat that begins as if the viewer is looking through a telescope to focus on one image at a time. In fact, Verti uses a number of techniques that are fascinating such as one similar to wiping soot off a window to reveal a scene from the natural world. As the video unfolds, transformation techniques emerge. A photo of a human foot transforms into the image of a forest, and the forest dissolves into an image of a frog, and so on and so on. Several times a torso of a man is superimposed with images of trees and other patterns. Images blend into other images, and as the piece builds, there is a disturbing aspect as pictures are flashing and changes are happening to quickly for the eye to fully comprehend.

As the video and music draw to a close, the images and sounds take on an ominous and distorted quality, and Alec Warren crosses the stage leaving behind the singing bowl and other instruments associated with sounds more peaceful in nature. He takes his seat at a set of drums and plays them with full force as if to issue a warning.

Just as the video begins with an isolated image, it ends this way too with a photograph of a turtle. I was reminded of the myopic versus long range planning tug-of-war that humans engage in with regards to the environment. I was left with a feeling of unease and an appreciation for artists who use their talents to draw attention to the magnificence of nature.