This weekend I headed to the Design District to see a series of roving, site-specific, 30-minute performances. I didn’t want to go out, but I did, and it was (more or less) worth the 10-minute drive.

“Daydreaming with Jean” by Marissa Alma Nick. Photo by Neil de la Flor

The evening began on the gorgeous rooftop terrace of The Garden Building. We entered through a private back entrance and then rode the elevator to third floor, where Empress Addi + RaRa Rock performed a set. Empress Addi’s soulful jazzy vocals sounded a little stressed that night, but when she sang in Creole, the crowd engaged.

After Empress Addi, we took the stairs down to the 2nd floor, where Alma Dance Theatre presented “Daydreaming with Jean,” an elegant and playful piece inspired by choreographer Marissa Alma Nick’s loss of her grandmother to dementia. The performance used the four corners of the space and forced the audience to move with the dancers. This strategy made it difficult to experience the piece as a whole, which was brilliant, because it mirrored the fragmented mind of a person suffering from dementia. The performance demonstrated Nick’s growth as a choreographer, and I’m excited about where her work is going.

The evening closed with humorist Freddy Stebbins’ “One Man Show” in the Atrium of the 4141 Building. Though she’s extraordinarily talented, Stebbin’s performance annoyed me. Stebbins is a strong performer, but the jokes/satire relied heavily on tried-and-untrue “Area Code 305” ethnic and gender stereotypes. I want more Stebbins, more improvisation, more character impersonations, but no more character assassinations. No more references to female genitalia or the loud and crazy Cuban grandfather for laughs. Stebbins is a phenomenal actor. Subvert the stereotypes, and he’ll have a phenomenal act.

Visit www.miamidesigndistrict.net/blog for upcoming site-specific performances.