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Shifting shape ever so slowly, the dancers morphed my topographical perception of a place I would otherwise hike past without a second glance. Soto let her 20-foot branch rotate like a mobile on her shoulder, while Prince’s feet gripped the fallen trunk she was standing on, and her upper body twisted and swayed. All five balanced long, leafless branches on their heads, arms, shoulders, bellies, and fingertips. Soto herself dared to linger on rocks above the shallow dam. Two more dancers hovered amongst the spectators, Olive Price on a fallen tree Marion Ramírez at the river bank. Two were on the far side of the stream, Jumatatu Poe still and nearly invisible, camouflaged by his green-brown attire on the wooded slope above the water Beau Hancock slowly emerging, arms outstretched, from behind a rock. Separated by the natural barriers of the creek, rocks, woods, as well as by the dam, five dancers were strategically placed in the audience’s purview. The dance reconceived a divided landscape as an integrated whole. Harold “DidgeriDude” Smith’s own physical appearance – a prominent head of white hair, big beard, tie-dyed shirt and unlaced boots – resembled that of a modern-day shaman, who invited us with his deliberate, scattered sounds into a heightened state of perception. The ambient gush of the dam’s waterfall augmented the sounds of the sole musician’s distinct instruments – from a sonorous didgeridoo over timid rattles to a massive seashell that sounded like a ship horn. The crowd included performers, spectators, photographers, fishers, ducks and insects, some who had come for the event and others who just happened by.Ĭalling this Branch Dance a “performance” would be a disservice to what actually took place: it was a restless happening that mirrored the springtime season – popping up from nowhere, rehearsed yet unpredictable.

On Sunday morning, April 15, a small audience gathered by Margage Dam, a remnant of the last active mill in the valley, now a picturesque spot near the Valley Green Inn.

The Topography of a Performance by Kilian Kröll Merián Soto’s Branch Dances, performed seasonally in the Wissahickon Park, don’t just do away with traditional notions of performance, they reorganize whole landscapes.

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