Wonder/Through the Looking Glass Houses

Arie Davidson, a self-identified Trans Woman Performance artist, premieres her inventive "Wonder/Through the Looking Glass," a Dixon Place commissioned work this month through December 17. It's a wry and intelligent interpretation of the Lewis Carroll text through the perspective of a trans female performer.

Davidson has been described as "the naughty lovechild of Modern Dance and a Burlesque Carnival." These occasions of a trans-made dance theatre are so rare, you should hurry to see it before it closes. There are only four performances left.

"Wonder" is a culmination of Davidson's 2016 Residency at Dixon Place, the final commissioned piece of their 30th Anniversary Season. I have had the pleasure of seeing Davidson in her burlesque persona, Faux Pas Le Fay, perform some hilarious and provocative work. So it was with great anticipation that I attended "Wonder." I was not disappointed.

"Wonder" is a powerfully realized piece of dance theatre. Davidson's choreography is imaginative, illuminating the fustier parts of the Lewis Carroll text. Each section, Falling, Caucus Race, and Tea Party refer to the original narrative, but sections like Butterfly Born in the Wrong Body, fracture the original and reflect the trans experience.

Her dance troupe of artists -- Kinetic Architecture Dance Theatre (Meghann Bronson-Davidson, Chloe Markewich, Brittany Posas and Dara Swisher) serve her well. Uniformly adept and muscular they execute Davidson's steps expertly, creating a splendid alchemy of idea and movement. There are virtuosic performances by Miss Cherry belting Jefferson Airplane's "Go Ask Alice" and Cheshire Puss (Swisher) reading the Lewis texts.

The design elements of "Wonder" are first rate. The music is an eclectic range of Bowie, Annie Lennox, Donna Summer, and LaBelle. Costumer Designer Lori Gassie makes inspired use of one the text's central metaphors -- a life-size chess board -- and reiterates it inventively in the dancers' costumes in each scene. The scenic design complements this as well.

Davidson's performance as the slightly frowsy, over-the-hill actress who happens to be a rabbit is unexpectedly endearing. Her interjections throughout the piece suggest that Alice's Wonderland is an apt metaphor for contemporary heteronormative society. Then she spotlights the sexist, transphobic Hollywood of the recent past in which she toiled:

"Like many young aspiring Starlets, I ran away to Hollywood to be a star on the big screen! Hollywood was different back then. Trans was not in vogue. Why we didn't even utter the word. So one had to take work where their skills were needed. Porn. I fuck like a rabbit. True story."

White Rabbit dances and wisecracks throughout the piece, lending advice to Alice (Cecily McCullough) while Alice stumbles through this upside down universe. White Rabbit helps Alice realize her aspirations while White Rabbit is unfairly eliminated from the competition (The Price is Right to be Queen)and shunted aside by non-trans women.

The final scene, physically representing Alice's ultimate wish to be the Queen of Wonderland, is a very clever rendering of the hierarchical and sexist strivings of heterosexual women to get to the top -- in whatever pecking order they find themselves.

"Wonder" is an elegant addition to the ever-burgeoning work by transgendered artists that tell the story of trans lives. You will be smitten by it.

"Wonder/Through the Looking Glass" runs through December 17 at Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street in Manhattan. For tickets or information, call 212-219-0736 or visit http://dixonplace.org.