In Sokolow's 'Dreams' Dancers Evoke Horrors of Holocaust

From the Washington Jewish Week:

"There's a moment in 'Dreams,' the 1961 dance piece by second-generation modern dance pioneer Anna Sokolow, that sears. Dancers stand, vibrating in stillness, each with a fist rigidly balled up, clasped in their other hand, tensely pulling away, but caught, unable to escape.

This emblematic gesture in 'Dreams' grew from Sokolow's own subconscious memories, her night terrors. Ultimately, the piece became her evocation of the horrors of the Holocaust with dancers trapped, conjuring hollowed-eyed concentration camp victims, their opened mouths at one point soundless, like an Edvard Munch scream.

'Dreams' returns to Washington Saturday and Sunday when the Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company brings a revival to Dance Place. Dakshina, a District-based company founded in 2004, lives in two worlds: modern dance and the South Indian classical temple dance form called bharata natyam."

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