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“One of the area’s wittiest and most perceptive dance-essayists…”
-- Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post
“…her dancing [is] full of quicksilver physical and thematic shifts."
-- Jennifer Dunning, New York Times
“Mason’s [choreography]...required a high level of technical control, dramatic intensity and even physical courage...simply excellent.”
-- Jeff Hoodock, Washington Post
“Mason gave…a jamming solo that climaxed in a handstand with her back arched and her feet dangling above her head.”
-- Clare Croft, Dance Magazine
“young, black and brilliant...”
-- Robert Ackerman, Philadelphia City Paper
“...an electrifying dancer...”
--Winslow Anderson, The Day
“Gesel Mason understands how to move her audience to tears and laughter. Though trained as a dancer, it's her talents for blending video, text and movement that make her company, Gesel Mason Performance Projects, so engaging to watch.”
-- Janet Lynn Roseman, Washington Post
"Ms. Mason has put together a show that should be required viewing for students of dance history.”
-- Jennifer Dunning, New York Times, November 19, 2007
“Gesel Mason's one-woman show was the sort of performance that in any other realm would enshrine her among a select few standouts…an ambitious, riveting and impressively executed program.”
-- Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post, October 23, 2006
“The lovely Gesel Mason transformed herself into someone ill, unkempt and awkward for Donald McKayle’s “Saturday’s Child”: a powerful performance.”
-- George Jackson, DanceView Times, September 25, 2006
Mason showed her mettle in David Rousseve's harrowing “Jumping the Broom”, Mason, her hands and feet shackled, cries in wordless agony, her head thrown back, face contorted in pain, body trembling in a torn wedding dress.
--Lisa Traiger, Washington Post, May 16, 2005
“Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's solo for Mason, “Bent”, was a …finely danced paean to the '60s guitar-and-drum ramblings of George Clinton and Funkadelic.”
--Lisa Traiger, Washington Post, May 16, 2005
“well-conceived and well-played multimedia theater piece…”
“solid…rich…and emotionally resonant.”
“a gripping work… On second viewing, ‘Declaration’ stands the test of time. It is as complex as the Jefferson-Hemings relationship itself…”
-- Pamela Squires, Washington Post, 2002
"Giselle Must (Not) Die," a spoof of the classical ballet "Giselle," shamelessly lampooned the peasant girl who kills herself for love lost. In Mason's version, the heartbroken girl is rescued by seven dancers -- dressed in white stiletto boots and tutus -- who have regained their personal power. It's a work that both Carl Jung and Gloria Steinem would applaud.
-- Janet Lynn Roseman, Washington Post, May 22, 2006
“[Mason] seamlessly blends a multitude of techniques, one moment dropping her weight into a time step and the next beating her calves together in a cabriole straight from ballet class. Swing, hip-hop, African and modern all comfortably shared the stage for her sold out Saturday evening performance...Mason has vision and savvy to tackle a diversity of works.”
--Lisa Traiger, Washington Post, February 13, 2001
Ever had a toothache and, despite the pain, find yourself biting down on the sore spot? That's the feel of Gesel Mason's "Numb," the best of four premieres CrossCurrents Dance Company presented Saturday at Dance Place…”Numb’ is loud and raw. It takes as its theme the desperate desire for human contact, even if painful, particularly when life seems empty. Powered by the screeching crescendos of Sparta, Mason shapes the ensemble like twisted pieces of metal that clang and crash.
--Pamela Squires, Washington Post, February 2, 2004
“Gesel Mason’s ‘How to Watch a Modern Dance Concert, or What in the Hell are They Doing on Stage?’ was even funnier than it’s title, and wickedly on the mark...”
-- Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post
“Limber and athletic, Mason’s dancing leaves a searing impression…she can weave and thrust her body into positions with daring and breathtaking ease: One moment just her leg erupts in a quiver, the next she’s twisting herself into a back walkover-on only one arm. After a fearless fall she can soar elegantly, and then bump and grind playfully…A storyteller at heart with a penchant for the theatrical, Mason is a performing artist to watch.”
--Lisa Traiger, Washington Post, August 24, 1998
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