Best and Brightest Colors: Voci Dance's Paint Chips

Photo by Tisse Mallon

Voci Dance's Paint Chips

One of our very favorite shows of Orlando Fringe 2016 was Paint Chips, based on Ken Nordine's 1960s spoken-word classic, Colors. Local dance troupe Voci choreographed dozens of Nordine's short odes to individual colors, preserving the cool, jazzy wit of the originals and imbuing it with their own sprightliness, poignance and intelligence. You may feel that you were colorblind before you embarked on this psychedelic journey.

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Best Walking Naughty Bits: Jason Hackenwerth’s Art31 wearable inflatables

art31.org; jasonhackenwerth.com

Last March, the Art & History Museums – Maitland's monthlong Art 31 project brought works by a number of internationally acclaimed artists (including Dale Chihuly, Lorrie Fredette and Paige Smith) to the Orlando area. However, nothing topped Jason Hackenwerth's biological balloon sculpture costumes for sheer grin-inducing WTF-ness. You can say they were abstract forms or alien fish; we could only see giant walking naughty bits, and we loved them for it.

Best Place to Find Free Art Elements: The margins of I-4

The on-ramps are better prospects than the off-ramps, as if merging depends on purging. Outside the I-4 Ultimate construction fences, there's a no-man's-land of heaved purses, flung coolers, thrown books, car parts, children's toys ... the Orlampa Corridor's forgotten detritus, a fascinating linear treasure trove that's constantly changing. You'll need both a driver and a spotter, but the driver needs a fighter pilot's nerves and reaction time. Turn sharp eyes toward any area where they've stopped mowing, and look for piles. At the west side of Kaley, for example, we recently found brass engine parts and a rusty aqua chaise lounge. At Princeton's little westbound on-ramp: an Encyclopedia Britannica – that rare Volume XII – and a dog dish. All fodder for the muse.