Pitchfork

Interpretive dancer Miquel Santa Schultz will be performing his latest piece, "Decade of the Doughty Dowdy: The Career of the Charlatans UK in Contemplative Dance," at the Suffolk Community Playhouse (next to the Whale and Whistle) from January 8th through September 17th. With no formal training, Santa Schultz won hearts on the International Dance Circuit (the I.I.D.L.) with his sincere, blue-collar recitals. Though he hasn't yet made it onto Wheaties boxes or Gillette adverts, his dogged career has reached a relaxed, inspiring zenith within his latest production-- an ode to a band he particularly enjoys. "They really remind me of my favorites," Santa Schultz explains. "And I hope I can remind audiences of some of their favorite interpretive dancers."

Perhaps one of the crowd-pleasers Santa Schultz refers to is Jess Middlesex, a competitor that has routinely sold out soccer pitches nationwide with her production of "Like Passing Stones: The Stone Roses and the Rolling Stones in Dance." Santa Schultz shrugs off the success of Middlesex and other I.I.D.L. champs. "I've enjoyed it, I suppose. I got me a house on the coast," he muses.

Schultz's piece opens with Santa donning a sweater full of dried beans. Accompanied by the psychedelic baggy groove of Some Friendly, Santa Schultz mimics a maraca by jumping in the air, violently twitching whilst away from gravity's grasp. Then, producing four silken scarves of red, blue, yellow, and orange, Schultz twirls on tiptoe. The scarves curl out of his fist, suspending and snapping about his pulsating body. To finish the movement, the music flows into Between 10th and 11th material. The scarves are held high as Santa Schultz rotates. They billow in perfect quarters, like the frame of an umbrella, mirroring the Charlatans' bowl-cut bangs.

As the band's self-titled album thumps through the P.A., Santa Schultz moves into the most expressive part of his act. Wearing a wet, wrinkled, dark pink rubber suit, he molds himself into the form of Tim Burgess' enormous lips. Undulating like two hot dogs on a convenience store warmer, Santa Schultz manages to actually lipsync in a moment of extreme human flexibility. High above, false snow falls from a grid of colored spotlights.

From this point, the performance glides into the most taxing section for the audience. Paying customers have been known to leave the auditorium as Santa Schultz paces around in circles for 59 minutes. Yet, Santa Schultz insists on the inclusion of this movement. Stick it out and be rewarded with the most emotional, invigorating moves Santa Schultz can squirt out of his frame.

At last, the final movement begins with Santa Schultz mimicking falling tears with the help of ladders and harnesses. This represents the death of the Charlatans' original keyboardist, Rob Collins. The stage lights dim. Audience members begin to rise. But in a flash of halogens, Miquel Santa Schultz bursts back onto the stage. His muscles become gelatin. He drifts across the hardwood floorboard like smoke. Us and Us Only blares from enormous speakers. The opening bassline of "Forever" undulates and lifts chins with wraith's fingers.

The stage is now bare and undecorated. Santa Schultz wears only a gray wool bodysuit. The acoustic rhythms of Us and Us Only present Santa Schultz with a new form of dance. He begins to stomps around the stage, bounding, pouncing, hopping quietly to the steady pulse of the mid-tempo beat. There are no more swirls or effects-- just one man's body and a wood floor. The devotion outweighs the spectacle.

In a more questionable moment of artistry, Santa Schultz suddenly slips between giant wax sheets of paper. Wind-tunnel fans blow behind him, allowing him to create a harmonic kazoo sound. It's an unwelcome departure, and brings to mind Cline Kursmith's critically slammed "Dylan Was Awesome, Man" performance at the 1976 I.I.D.L. championships. But Santa Schultz's final movements are economical and somewhat memorable. While the final act carries on a bit too long, the sum of Schultz's performance haunts your memory until you give in with an easy smile.

There are three shows daily-- 12:40, 5:10, and 9:00. See the first show, as Santa Schultz wears down athletically upon repeated performances.