Dance review: Nick Cave’s “Heard” at UNT

by Jeanette Silva of North Texas Daily

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More than 800 people worked behind the scenes to put the performance together.

More than 200 viewers crowded around to view “Heard,” a production by UNT artist-in-residence Nick Cave, which featured UNT dancers dressed in colorful horse-themed costumes.

The free-admission performance, which was nearly a year in the making, took place on the lawn between the Art Building and Curry Hall. The crowd consisted of elementary school students, UNT students and staff, Denton residents, and even a few local police officers.

The dancers were dressed in Soundsuits made of raffia, a type of palm leaf, and collaborated with percussion players from the music department and designers from the art department.

“It was fantastic,” Cave said. “It was just what I had imagined in my head.”

Cave, who grew up in Missouri, attended graduate school at UNT in the ’80s to study art. Being this year’s artist in residence gave Cave the green light to go through with the performance he had been dreaming of.

At first, Cave couldn’t decide whether to name the piece “Herd” or “Heard,” but he decided on the latter. He felt “Heard” signified the performance more because of the Soundsuits as opposed to focusing the performance on just a herd of horses on a lawn on campus.

Cave wanted viewers to go to a dream-like state while watching the performance.

“It’s really about a very simple idea that gets the mind to sort of remove itself from its day-to-day regimen,” Cave said. “A moment where you’re here in this alternative experience.”

Painting and drawing junior Layne Farmer thought highly of the performance.

“The music had a pulse to it and gave the performance a dream-like feel,” Farmer said.

Dance senior Kodi Giovannini was a team leader for the dancers who performed in the Soundsuits, which weighed about 150 pounds. Dancers were also attached to each other.

“It was fun to do the piece, but the costumes are very uncomfortable,” Giovannini said. “It’s very hard because you don’t know at first glance which horse is which. You have a limited amount of viewing space, and you don’t have any peripheral vision.”

UNT Art Galleries Director Tracee Robertson and Robert Milnes, dean of the College of Visual Arts and Design, worked together to organize the performance that brought Cave’s dream to life.

Milnes gave the opening speech to kick the performance off. He also helped make a pair of pants for one of the dancers.

More than 800 people worked behind the scenes to help put the performance together, and Robertson was appreciative.

“Hundreds of students have worked so hard for a year to make this happen,” Robertson said. “It’s been an amazing investment of their time and energy, and I appreciate it.”

For those who missed the performance, Cave will host a third and final performance Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. Tickets are $5 for students and can be purchased at the door.

“It was fun to do the piece, but the costumes are very uncomfortable,” Giovannini said. “It’s very hard because you don’t know at first glance which horse is which. You have a limited amount of viewing space, and you don’t have any peripheral vision.”

UNT Art Galleries Director Tracee Robertson and Robert Milnes, dean of the College of Visual Arts and Design, worked together to organize the performance that brought Cave’s dream to life.

Milnes gave the opening speech to kick the performance off. He also helped make a pair of pants for one of the dancers.

More than 800 people worked behind the scenes to help put the performance together, and Robertson was appreciative.

“Hundreds of students have worked so hard for a year to make this happen,” Robertson said. “It’s been an amazing investment of their time and energy, and I appreciate it.”

For those who missed the performance, Cave will host a third and final performance Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. Tickets are $5 for students and can be purchased at the door.

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