Pictured: Yuko Monden, Kiplinn Sagmiller, Dwayne Scheuneman and David James Silpa Photo: Robbie Sweeny |
Wei-Shan Lai &
Dancers
What Do I Remember
Z Below, San Francisco
August 27th,
2016
Four dancers entered the
space and began repetitive motions – a pivoting foot, a torso melting to the
side, an arm bent and then straightened. As each cast member repeated these
various choreographic tasks, their eyes and heads tried to follow and
comprehend the movement. But the body and mind couldn’t quite connect; they were
purposefully disjointed. Desperately trying to work together, these two
entities were consumed by crossed channels, lost in a sea of mixed messages.
How are the physical and
the neurological related; how do the body and brain respond to loss, grief and
fear; how can recollection and repetition lead to new pathways and connections
– these are the themes that lie at the heart of What Do I Remember, a new world premiere by Wei-Shan Lai & Dancers.
Artistic Director/choreographer Wei-Shan Lai has assembled a host of talented collaborators
to bring What Do I Remember to life -
media designer Olivia Ting, scenic designer Chih-Wei G.V. Chang, lighting
designer Heather Basarab, composer Ben Juodvalkis, cinematographer Joel Wanek
and neuroscientist Yu-Wei Wu. And the entire project speaks of ingenuity,
innovation and authenticity.
What Do I Remember is full of recollection, mostly expressed
through storytelling. All four dancers (Yuko Monden, Kiplinn Sagmiller, Dwayne
Scheuneman and David James Silpa) share vulnerable personal narratives,
including Scheuneman’s tragic recounting of how he lost the use of his legs. With
these recollections, Lai is demonstrating how the act of speaking something out
loud, the act of expressing can in itself build new
pathways in the brain and in the body. It isn’t about forgetting what happened;
it’s about understanding your relationship with that memory today.
Repetition also played a
huge role in What Do I Remember,
again in an effort to reflect the creation of new physical and mental pathways.
Text phrases (“everything will be okay”) were repeated; group lifts were
sequenced; a gorgeous penchée arabesque/rond versé recurred. And as these
elements repeated, you could see them change and evolve, just like memories.
Choreographically, there
was also a significant shift over the piece’s forty-five minutes. The initial detached,
jarring movement phrases became more fluid, indicating a different bond between
the body, mind and spirit. And there was one lengthy section in the middle of What Do I Remember that deserves special
mention. All four dancers were sitting cross-legged on the floor, cycling
through a series of arm gestures. It was so tranquil and meditative, like as a
community, they had found a special sense of peace through a practice of
mindfulness.
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