Zoe Keating and the Apex Contemporary Dance Theatre (Boulder)

I had the pleasure of attending a performance pretty unique to anything I’ve ever been to and anything The Ruckus has covered. I was immediately in when I heard Zoë Keating was coming to Boulder. I’m a huge fan of her work (if you haven’t bought Into the Trees, go do it). You may be familiar with Keating’s work through Amanda Palmer, Rasputina, or as a fan of classical music. If you’re not, what she does is really amazing: Zoë makes herself into a one woman cello orchestra by recording and looping music into a MacBook. This is a real treat to see live. Despite a program crash (to be honest, problems and mistakes are part of the live experience for me and Ms. Keating handled it well), it was really beautiful and an experience I’m not going to forget any time soon.

I don’t know if I’ve ever discussed it at length here before, but I am in love with the cello. It has such personality and presence- it is easily my favorite instrument. I could listen and/or watch someone play it for hours. I also happen to be an Apple snob. Zoë Keating is essentially the perfect musician for me.

As I mentioned before, this show was a little different from the type I usually see. Along with Keating, the Apex Contemporary Dance Theatre performed a choreographed set. I do admit I’m not familiar with dance at all. I can’t even snap my fingers to a beat and habitually hurt myself just walking. I never took ballet as a kid, so I’m about as far from an expert as one gets. However, I can tell you that I liked what I saw. The Apex dancers moved with grace and style, providing a lovely accompaniment to the cello pieces.

The performance included selections from Keating’s Into the Trees, One Cello x 16: Natoma, as well as “Dialectic” and “Emergent Properties”, which are original collaborations with Apex.