Also: Tim Heidecker's serious tunes, and other things to do in Portland this week.
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Back in 2017, I called Franco Nieto "one of Portland's most arresting dancers." Born and raised in Vancouver, Washington, Nieto ditched football for dance at age 16, after seeing Israel's Batsheva Dance Company perform in Portland. "Do I see myself as a professional football player or dancer?" he asked himself. That pedigree, I'd wager, helped give Nieto a singular blend of athleticism and grace, of explosiveness and restraint. You're never sure whether he's about to execute a tackle or a turn. This weekend, he'll bring those skills to Open Ended (7:30pm Thursday-Sunday; $20-45), a collaboration between Open Space, the company Nieto cofounded in 2020, and LA-based duo Outrun the Bear.
Performed in Open Space's Kenton studio, which is itself tucked within Oregon Contemporary, Open Ended puts the audience at belly button level with the dancers, their eyes on yours, so close you'll want to tuck in your feet to stay out of their way. The evening features three parts. One is a duet, Once, & for all, choreographed and performed by Outrun the Bear's Megan Doheny and Ilya Nikurov, who describe it as a deconstruction of the happily-ever-after fairy tale of love. A video teaser shows sinuous, crisp movement: a sort of unhurried urgency. Also on deck is While We're Us, a new work created by Doheny and Nikurov for the dancers of Open Space, including Nieto. It's a premiere, so exactly what appears is TBD, but a peek into rehearsal suggests playful partnering. Rounding out the program is Dust, a nine-minute dance film shot on the Oregon Coast, choreographed by Noelle Kayser and starring Open Space's Bree Kostelnik and Audrey Wells.
This will be just the second show I've seen at Open Space, and, frankly, I'm giddy. August's Summer Soup left me more energized than anything I saw all last year -- the potency of movement, the conviction of expression, the surrender to joy. I've been waiting to be in the same room with these dancers ever since. -- Rebecca Jacobson