{"id":2857,"date":"2011-08-09T15:42:43","date_gmt":"2011-08-09T19:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/?p=2857"},"modified":"2011-09-30T18:00:32","modified_gmt":"2011-09-30T22:00:32","slug":"eiko-koma-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/eiko-koma-water.htm","title":{"rendered":"Eiko & Koma – Water"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Eiko<\/a>
\n<\/a>Eiko & Koma\u2019s Water<\/em>
\nSunday, July 31, 2011
\nPaul Milstein Pool, Hearst Plaza at Lincoln Center
\nLincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival<\/a>
\nEiko & Koma<\/a>
\nAll photos by Sam Kanter<\/p>\n

Something transformative happens when dance is taken out of the theater, out of the studio, and in to the open air.\u00a0 Eiko and Koma\u2019s performance of Water<\/em> carried things one step further.\u00a0 It was performed in the pool in front of the Vivian Beaumont Theater, after dark.<\/p>\n

In the midst of the noise and tension of as artificial an environment as New York City, the atmosphere of the production took me back to what is natural and eternal – an element like water.\u00a0 Even when outside noises and images intruded on the evening, like the sound of a motorcycle roaring up 65th Street, or the sight of red lights and flashes on the cameras of those in the audience, the undercurrent and the integrity of the performance couldn\u2019t be violated.<\/p>\n

Eiko appears.\u00a0 Her entrance is so quiet and unobtrusive that I only notice she\u2019s there when those around me start pointing at her.\u00a0 She is being lit with white light, and she looks other-worldly.\u00a0 Standing alone in the water, dressed in a white kimono, she could be a spirit or an intercessor between this world and the unseen world.\u00a0 Her face is white, her hair is loose and her arms are lifted to the sky.\u00a0 The water in which she stands is dark and still.\u00a0 Her reflection and the ripples in the water which radiate from her body, create the most beautiful images.\u00a0 She seems to be part of the water.\u00a0 Her movement is so very slow and lovely, giving the viewer the opportunity to experience every tiny detail of every gesture.\u00a0 Her facial expression is sometimes pained from struggle, sometimes resigned to her fate, and sometimes impassive, calm and knowing.<\/p>\n

Koma approaches her from behind and lifts her hand.\u00a0 There is no clear narrative here \u2013 I think it\u2019s left up to the viewer to decide what he or she is seeing.\u00a0 To me, it seemed that Koma was in peril and Eiko had the power to help him, even if it meant interceding on his behalf with what cannot be seen.<\/p>\n

Slowly, he lowers himself into the water.\u00a0 As he does this, I am taken by the beauty of their bodies against their reflections on the surface of the dark water, and the way that their physical presences grow gradually smaller as they slowly submerge.\u00a0 The slightest rise or fall from the water seems to change the physical size of them.<\/p>\n

Koma continues to submerge until only his face and one shoulder can still be seen.\u00a0 There are passages in which only the dancers\u2019 faces and hands break the surface of the water, and though they become very small physical presences, we still feel the presence of the entire body and its spirit, its emotion, its motivation and its movement.<\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n

Musician Robert Mirabal (above), who provided the haunting accompaniment on drums, shakers and Native American flute, is also partially submerged in a corner of the pool.\u00a0 He\u2019s not lit and he is sitting alongside a raft made of pieces of driftwood.\u00a0 His movement is as expressive and reverential as the dancers\u2019 as he sets the raft drifting toward Koma.\u00a0 The raft approaches at this same extremely slow pace, soon to be accompanied by the sound of the drum, a steady rhythm that sounds like a rapid heartbeat, and then joined by the sound of a shaker.\u00a0 Tension builds, then gradually eases as the drumbeat slows, giving way to the pure and powerful call of the wood flute.<\/p>\n

\"Eiko<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Eiko<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Eiko<\/a><\/p>\n

Eiko and Koma are natives of Japan. \u00a0 They are dressed in kimonos and they are wearing Butoh makeup on their faces.\u00a0 So one can\u2019t help but be reminded of\u00a0 the recent devastating events in Japan and the part played by water, or by man\u2019s manipulation of the natural world.\u00a0 Though the waters are still in Water, we can sense that the characters share a story which may not be completely resolved, and perhaps the water will become a permanent part of them, if it doesn’t overwhelm them all together.<\/p>\n

The performance and the notes from the program leave the audience with much to consider.\u00a0 Water is essential to our lives.\u00a0 Our bodies are made of water, water cleanses us, water fosters the growth of crops, water quenches our thirst.\u00a0 Water moves around an obstacle to reach its destination.\u00a0 Water is eternal.\u00a0 But water can also overpower.\u00a0 Water has a spirit of its own and water demands respect.<\/p>\n

Toward the end of the piece, Koma receives a small raft full of lighted candles, and this act also conjures an atmosphere of the eternal.\u00a0 The raft of candles and the two figures slowly drift into the darkness.<\/p>\n

\"Eiko<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Eiko<\/a><\/p>\n

Just as when it began, I never really knew when Water ended.\u00a0 But the mood that it created was so intense, that it seemed disorienting to find my feet and leave the plaza once it was over.\u00a0 The performance was so moving, so beautiful and so special because of where it took place.<\/p>\n

To view an exhibit of sets, costumes and videos chronicling the 40 year old collaboration between Eiko and Koma, visit Residue<\/a>, an Installation by Eiko & Koma, at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.\u00a0\u00a0 Now through October 30, 2011.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eiko & Koma\u2019s Water Sunday, July 31, 2011 Paul Milstein Pool, Hearst Plaza at Lincoln Center Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival Eiko & Koma All photos by Sam Kanter Something transformative happens when dance is taken out of the theater, out … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,20],"tags":[299,300,291],"class_list":["post-2857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dance","category-karen","tag-eiko-koma-water","tag-lincoln-center-out-of-doors-festival","tag-robert-mirabal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2857"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3035,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857\/revisions\/3035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}