“No matter how hard you fight the darkness, every light casts a shadow, and the closer you get to the light, the darker that shadow becomes”
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when man is afraid
of the light"
(Plato)
The four characters in this piece are three present-day characters and a shadow figure who can only be sensed, not seen by them.
The time frame is the predawn witching hour.
While observing their communication and interactive patterns, the shadow figure (personifying the ancestors) becomes aware of her unwitting influence on her descendants. Feeling quite overwhelmed by the scope of this responsibility, she realizes the tremendous burden her legacy places on her descendants' shoulders.
As in a mirror, while watching their interaction, she discovers the life choices she unconsciously made as well as the wasted opportunity of "rebellion", something she would have never been capable of in her lifetime. She doesn't like either realization, feeling both angry and helpless as she is stuck in the shadow world, and desperately tries to influence and encourage her descendants to choose a more emancipated path.
The first of the three descendants is steeped in tradition, feeling quite secure in following society's rules and customs. At the same time, she realizes that she is moving on a set track with tunnel vision, heading towards the exit without ever having considered looking either left or right.
The second one tries to rebel and questions life. However, she feels that she still is being controlled, like a marionette not knowing who the puppet master is, which renders her weary and suspicious to a certain extent.
The third descendant recognizes the contradiction between adapted behavior and intellect in her own patterns as well as those of her fellow human beings. To break out of this drama, she tries to strike a new path.
Finally, the shadow figure enters the realm of the dead, hence unblocking the path for her descendants. The three stride into the future...
2018 TRANSLATE
voice of dance
​30/06/18
Dixon Place
NYC
KoDaFe Festival 2018​29/06/18
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
NYC