I didn't like it, but you should see it

I went to see a showcase of so-called "interdisciplinary projects" as part of the Source Festival tonight. "Interdisciplinary project," in this context, means, artists from two separate disciplines get together and create a performance that blends the two forms; in the case of tonight's showcase, that meant spoken word + dance, improv + dance, and film + dance (dance-ity dance dance).

$15, three shows, only one of which I actually enjoyed (that would be the one involving improv - big shocker, I know) -- and yet, I was glad to see all three, because each had a quality that is so very difficult to find: each was distinctive.

Not to make this Semantics Month here on Creative DC (see also: Deep Thoughts on a Sunday Night), but "distinctive" is a doozy. I know what I mean by it, in my gut, but my brain has a harder time translating. Here's my best attempt: "Distinctive" is when I sense a sincere purpose behind a work of art, and it has an aesthetic that grips me for being new and fresh. So much of what I see looks so much like other things I've seen - when something breaks through that, I pay attention.

So if you're looking for some creative fodder, check out tomorrow night's show - and let me know what you think. And kudos to the Source for providing the space for this kind of experimentation.

UPDATE 7.4.08: As Letty mentioned in the comment she posted, the improv/dance show ("Going Against the Flow - Improvised Lives") is coming to the 9:30 Club later this month - July 26, 8:30 pm. The performance is part of the Capital Fringe Fest.

UPDATE 7.11.08: Here's the Washington Post review of the 7.1 performance of these inter-disciplinary shows. The critic, Celia Wren, loved the film - " stirring and poignantly open-ended." Huh? To me, it completely lacked subtlety. Oh well. She also didn't care for the improv/dance combo, but then, she told someone at WIT (before reviewing one of our winter shows) that she doesn't like improv. So there's that.