“Echo Mine” a tribute to Claire Bataille- reviewed by CJ Hyland

Highly Recommended ***** What is Inspiration? Merriam-Webster defines it as “a divine influence or action on a person,” the Collins English Dictionary tells us, “Inspiration is a feeling of enthusiasm you get from someone or something, that gives you new and creative ideas,” and Wikipedia says it’s “the act of an elevating or stimulating influence upon the intellect, emotions or creativity.” Yet, do any of these really explain what inspiration really is, the power it holds, and the importance it has to all of us in our daily lives? I don’t believe that they do and that’s because inspiration is hard to quantify, it’s hard to characterize, and it is certainly hard to explain in words, and I use them for a living.

I see inspiration as a process. It’s an enrichment of our life in some way that allows for a fuller understanding of ourselves, as well as a chance for growth, to become who we are in a better or greater way. There is no beginning or end to the process, it is cyclical. If, as is the case this evening, our inspiration is a person, the process starts with the life experiences of the one we are inspired by and continues down through us and our own life experiences, to the lives of those we inspire. Perhaps that’s why the art form of dance seems like such a perfect way to pay tribute to one who inspires you – it’s fluid, ever changing and uniquely influenced and altered by the individual bodies who perform the movements. Given the life and work of the extraordinary woman who was honored this evening, and a more fitting tribute could not be forthcoming.

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in downtown Chicago, tonight, three artists took to the stage to perform a brand, new work, entitled Echo Mine, in honor of the late, legendary dance icon, Claire Bataille. Created by one of the performers, celebrated Chicago dancer and choreographer Robyn Mineko Williams, in conjunction with Claire herself, this breathtaking and poignant homage explores the nature of artistic legacy and lineage, as well as the inimitable individual who was Claire, herself.

As one of the four founding members of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and long-time director of Lou Conte Dance Studio, Claire Bataille’s contributions to and impact on the dance scene in Chicago are immeasurable. In her too short life, she instructed, aided and positively influenced more than a generation of dancers and choreographers and was highly regarded as a teacher as well as a person. Her passing, almost one year ago at age 66 of pancreatic cancer, was a momentous loss and has left some mighty shoes to fill in the Chicago dance community.

Artist Robyn Mineko Williams conceptualized Echo Mine as a story about Claire and her life, stating in an earlier interview, “What defines the project for me is Claire herself.” Originally a collaborative effort between Williams and Bataille and envisioned as a solo piece for Claire to dance herself, the scope of the project changed with Claire’s diagnosis, coming just one month into rehearsals. What emerged is a full-length work that is both inspired by and part of Bataille, danced by three different generations of Hubbard Street Alumni, Meredith Dincolo, Jacqueline Burnett and Williams herself, each with her own unique relationship to Claire that she brings to the piece. Add to the mix an original score, composed by Tim Rutili and the band Califone while watching videos of and reading interviews with Claire, and projections, designed by CandyStations (Deborah Johnson), featuring archival footage of Bataille, and her essence is everywhere.

The curtain rises to reveal a sparsely lit and barren stage, with the exception of a ballet dancers bar of light and a single folding chair. A lone dancer, attired attractively in a form fitting, tone on tone ensemble created by Hogan McLaughlin, stands facing the audience, completely in shadow. Slowly, as the music starts, she begins to move, arms gesturing, legs reaching out, a turn, another, until arms spins wildly in what looks like an air guitar solo. Another dancer enters, similarly attired, and the two begin to interact in what looks like a teacher and student exchange, one demonstrating a movement the second taking that knowledge and making it her own. What comes next are a series of frenzied and frenetic turns, leg lifts, and arm gestures that morph into measured and meditative freezes and extensions that are achingly lovely and poignant, as each learns or absorbs something from the other in an artistic exchange that transcends words.

At one especially moving point in the dance, two performers interact in an embrace, hugging, heads on shoulders, supporting each other, all the while Claire’s voice describes putting a positive face forward in her battle with cancer. As these two vital, gorgeous women hold hands, touch hearts, lean into each other, in a slow dance of profound emotion and grace, Claire speaks to us about true strength, life, and what it means to live and survive. The effect is breathtaking and heartbreaking in its simplicity and beauty.

The chair work was another highlight of the program, with all three women mimicking the movements of Claire projected behind them, clearly in the midst of her battle with cancer, yet still a vital force. Small soft gestures, a touch of the hand, a brush of the cheek, a slow languid turn of the head, morphing into striking full body movement as the three dancers breathe the life of their teacher and make her movements their own. “Silent as a snow angel,” Claire’s influence still has the ability to shape and transform the medium.

Nothing in Echo Mine is literal, it is a series of feelings and impressions that one is left with, a life honored by three exceptional artists intimately connected with the woman and her work. At times, I had the very distinct notion that each dancer was channeling two bodies, her own and Bataille’s, adding a layer of complexity and intimacy to the motions being performed and to the work as a whole.  Even in their synchronized moments, the dancers brought their own self and life experiences to their performance, so each was just slightly different and beautiful as a result.

There is a quiet intensity to Echo Mine that underscores the strength, courage and life force of the woman it celebrates. It is a spare yet poignant, haunting lovely work that is part memoir, part meditation, part elegy, part love story and wholly Claire Bataille. Echo Mine is a full circle of lineage, impacted by one woman’s remarkable life, performed by three masterful dancers each touched in some way by this woman, and living on to continue moving and inspiring artists, choreographers and audiences for many generations to come. A fitting legacy for an exceptional life.

To learn more about Robyn Mineko Williams and Echo Mine, please visit: robynminekowilliams.com

The full album Echo Mine will be released February 21, 2020 by Jealous Butcher Records. A video from the Album, “Snow Angel V2” featuring Williams and shot on location at Thalia Hall in Pilsen can be viewed here.