Marisa Morán Jahn | Cabaret

One part Fabergé egg, one part Busby Berkeley, “Cabaret” was commissioned by Ten Tiny Dances, a dance performance festival that normally takes place on a 4 x 4 foot stage. Created while sheltering in place amidst the Spring 2020 pandemic, Marisa Morán Jahn’s choreography takes place in an even tinier stage — on top of her bathroom sink jerry-rigged with duct tape, a broken lawn table, paint, and clamp lights. The viewer then steps inside into a sensuous, colorful atmosphere where mirrors multiply the syncopated movements of fingers, matching Busby Berkeley’s kaleidoscopic choreography. The multitude of fingers ‘perform’ the can-can, side step, and burlesque tease, invoking a desire for unison and intimacy. Throughout this short film, play and imaginative order enable a transcendence of the quotidian and chaotic.