According to the Telegraph, Kristen Hawkes’ “grandmother hypothesis” proposes that grandmothers’ care, over generations, extends women’s lifespans: “Humans developed longer lifespans and bigger brains because grandmothers began looking after their grandchildren up to two million years ago.” And, according to Time, neuroscientists are finding links between longevity and creativity–people who create live longer because of their creative work. So it stands to reason that pairing grandmothers (even fantasy ones) and a creative type like a dancer or composer would result in a match made in heaven.  At Thirdbird’s Blind Dates, we find just that in an improvisational sampler platter. With the help of a bingo-ball spinner, our hosts, Fantasy Grandma randomly pair up dancers and musicians who have been assigned numbers corresponding with the balls. 

First up, Megan Mazarick and Christina Zani stand awkwardly side by side … until Zani pulls an audience member in and invites him onto her back. Hilarity ensues. Eugene Lew and Jesse Kudler join forces next, Lew scratching and swiping a giant gong with a hodge-podge of props while Kudler ambles upstage and down from soundboard to microphone and transmitter. Their back-and-forth between locations and objects is a dance in itself. Another pair, Meg Foley and Zani, appear in snarling-cheetah printed leggings. They wiggle and writhe to Julius Masri’s percussion. Later, Beau Hancock twerks, Eun Jung Choi melts, and Billy Dufala plays what Fantasy Grandma designated “hip hop flute”–beatboxing into his instrument. Between each act, Fantasy Grandma raps along to a synthetic keyboard. I laugh at their antics, marvel at the impromptu dancing, feel guilty I haven’t called my own grandmother in a while. If creative work and grandmothers’ care can add years to our lives, I can’t help but wonder if I added a few hours to mine just by attending this show.

Blind Dates, presented by Thirdbird and hosted by Fantasy Grandma. Christ Church Neighborhood House, January 30, 2014.