Jumpin’ Jack Kerouac at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

So much love for Jumpin’ Jack Kerouac at the Rarig Proscenium. So much love. Choreographer and dancer Windy Bowlsby took on the seemingly impossible challenge of teaching movement to a group of folks who are known for their writing – expressing concepts with words, not with their bodies. There are a couple ringers in the group; one minored in dance, for instance. This definitely isn’t a show poking fun at a bunch of people dancing badly. Windy played to their strengths, and between each piece, she reads excerpts of text from interviews with the performers, and does a terrific job of channeling each one. These moments of insight, in the native language of the performers, truly give this show unexpected depth. And the dancing is lovely. Some of the dances may be silly, but the effort and the performances are very real, entertaining – and inspiring. Easily phillip andrew bennett low’s most accessible work yet.