It all began with a dance. For the Nature Theater of Oklahoma, this is a familiar starting point. According to Pavol Liska, who co-directs the company alongside his wife, Kelly Copper, “Dance becomes a kind of cell that contains the full DNA of everything.” In their latest production, No President, which is primarily set to the enchanting melodies of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, the dance crafted by Liska and Copper is not fully realized until the very end. This climactic moment serves as a distillation of the movement and gestural language explored throughout the performance, a unique “vocabulary,” as Liska puts it. “You steal from the dance,” he adds, emphasizing the integral role of movement in their storytelling.
Unlike the traditional Land of the Sweets or the Sugarplum Fairy found in the classic ballet, No President makes its North American premiere at NYU Skirball this Thursday and runs through Saturday. This production, humorously dubbed “a story ballet of enlightenment in two immoral acts,” presents choreography that is both playful and intense, executed with a raw tenderness that keeps audiences captivated. For Nature Theater, a vibrant and adventurous experimental theater company based in New York City, dance is not merely an aesthetic choice; it serves a crucial function within their artistic vision.
“I’m always nervous,” Liska admits, revealing the underlying anxiety that accompanies the creative process. “I’m always anxious, and the best way for me to just relax myself into the process is to make a dance. Even when we teach a class, the first thing I say is, ‘OK, let’s make a dance.’” This approach reflects the centrality of movement in their work, creating a space where creativity can flourish.
Copper elaborates on this sentiment, stating, “Dance is like a way of insisting that the heart of the thing will be a kind of pleasure, because it is a pleasure for us to work in dance. It’s the most fun we have.” This joy and passion for dance permeate their performances, making each work a celebration of movement and expression.
A scene from No President highlights Liska’s assertion that “dance becomes a kind of cell that contains the full DNA of everything.” As the audience experiences the production, they are invited to witness not just a ballet, but a rich tapestry of emotions and ideas woven together through the art of dance.
