December 9–16, 1999
critic pick|performance
Pound on a sheet of corrugated iron while rhythmically rocking from one leg to another, twirl and leap fearlessly into half-lit shadows and roll a noisy, wobbly cart underneath the light of a single bulb. And what do you get? A fusion of "movement, light and sound as equal creative partners."
Hakobi/Carriage, previewed this summer at a Kensington warehouse, is the ongoing collaboration between dancer/choreographer Roko Kawai, musician/composer David Forlano and lighting designer Helen Todd, and was molded and researched across hemispheres for more than a year.
This multimedia performance is based on the idea of bringing and retaining a sense of oneself on voyages to foreign lands. The word "hakobi" is a derivative of hakobu, which means "to carry" in Japanese, alluding to the private sentimentalities we bring with us wherever we go — either to tour or to live.
What North Philly and New Zealand surprisingly have in common are "endearing landscapes that spank us!" says Kawai. She and Forlano, both Philly artists, visited Todd’s home in New Zealand to witness the "nascent geology where glaciers move mountain ranges." Todd came to the United States three times and observed post-industrial buildings, built in the 1800s, deteriorate and reincarnate into fresh life.
A four-piece band — David Forlano strumming Turkish banjolin; David Champion blowing trombone; David Sherick doing who-knows-what with "a finely tuned coconut set;" Elise Goodman (great-niece of clarinetist Benny Goodman) fiddling the violin — weaves in and out of an amalgam of light and dance "in a circus-like procession."
With these three complementary media, expect to be taken to a surreal dreamscape where fuzzy fruit with green innards grow from trees in cement back yards and kiwi birds coo atop refurbished warehouses at dusk.
Hakobi/Carriage, Fri. and Sat., Dec 10 and 11, 8 p.m., Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914.
Back to the Music directory page