INTERDISCIPLINARY DANCE/ HUMANS ARE WAVES

Wave ripples created by an almost motionless figure in a shallow pool of water reflected into multiple vibrating patterns on the screen behind.

Sixth Avenue and Dominick St, The dance company Liemay-CAVE presented Floating Point Waves at the Here Art Center from April 6th to 14th. This seamless one act performance revealed the solo dancer, Ximena Garnica as the instigator of multiple repetitive interactions with space and the kinetic sculptures on stage. Ac-companied by an interdisciplinary mix of real time video, live electronic music, and water, Garnica played with all of these elements in attempting to convey the message of our interconnected relationship with nature.

The collaboration of Ximena Garnica and Shige Moriya as Liemay with the video-lighting designer Jeremy Slater brought together the skills and talent of these passionate and convincing theater artists. Every element made sense together as most theater performances should at their best. The bigger question lays in how dancers or actors best use themselves as instruments on stage, for both the bigger picture and their own role.

Garnica managed to blend-in entirely, first into reflective tubular curtains and then with in a pool. Throw-ing herself and tripping repeatedly in the water echoed through visual and audio effects. Both red and blue sound waves generated by a few projectors, intensified on the backdrop screen while soft distortions of recorded waves suddenly got louder.

Later on, Trying to establish her own balance on a see-saw like platform affirmed that every movement throughout the 1 and half hour piece was an exploration of her own limits. Of course these maneuvers were choreographed precisely but might have appeared as self-abuse. Her strong use of Asian dance techniques such as Butoh mixed with a focused understanding of every part of her body was something a kin to Robert Wilson’s staged tableaus.

The message of looking at how the microscopic and cellular scales of the human body can emulate soci-etal behavior while communicating the importance of our connection to nature might seem clear. But this piece is much more of an ambiguous expression. This so-called ‘concept’ could be explained in the attempt at solidify-ing a broader or several ideas. Garnica’s performance didn’t necessarily need to have a clear concise directive as the visceral experience was much more important. There is no doubt that the metaphor of humans as ‘floating points in water’ is romantically powerful, the real story behind this piece.

We are almost like buoys floating in a harbor of different connected networks. Garnica’s struggle to find physical balance throughout Floating Point Waves certainly brought a sense of human-ity to the austere environment on stage. She was a ‘floating point’ in a world of obstacles but her acted persever-ance actualized a visually stunning and physically empathic dance performance in front of a packed house. The audience was treated to total theater work, a creative assemblage that when done right, provides one of the best platforms for artistic expression.

ADRIAN MADLENER/ APRIL 2011