Eiko & Koma

“Hunger”
Eiko & Koma
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
October 25, 2008

by Lisa Rinehart
copyright ©2008 by Lisa Rinehart
 

Anyone who’s wondered, even for the tiniest moment, what life is all about, should see Eiko & Koma in performance. Allow me a quote from William Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence,”

To see a world in a grain of sand,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

 Or, perhaps, in eighty minutes, the running time of Eiko & Koma’s newest offering, “Hunger.” “Hunger” pulls from earlier works “Grain” (1983), and “Rust” (1988), but adds material from “Cambodian Stories: An Offering Of Painting and Dance” (2006) including two beautiful young painters turned performers, Charian and Peace. The sections are loosely bound together by the notion of rice as sustenance, as well as by Joko Sutrisno’s delicate vocals and gamelan, but “Hunger” is really about desire; the aching desire that gnaws at our stomachs, our hearts, and our minds. As Eiko & Koma put it, “At any age we are all hungry, not only for food, but also for knowledge, intimacy and life.”

After over 30 years of presenting dances using Delicious Movement (Eiko & Koma’s glacially slow fusion of Japanese Butoh, German Neue Tanz and American modern dance), the couple is comfortable distilling rough, primal forces into dances that whisper their urgency.The first image of “Hunger” is two human forms dangling upside down against a chain link fence as though pinned by an apocalyptic wind. Naked, ghostly white and bent at strange angles, Eiko & Koma embody the coiled stillness just before action, except that nothing happens. They are immobile for a long, long time. When Eiko finally moves one leg ever so slightly, we question if it really happened. Like translucent slugs, they slowly inch down the fence, crumple over one another and slide awkwardly upside down again -- heads leaning towards each other and legs drifting away. It’s a gorgeous visual metaphor for unspeakable yearning, and sets the tone for the evening.

Another duet conjures 17th century Japanese paintings and Kurosawa films. Koma, hunched and ragged, cradles cooked rice and offers it to Eiko as though it is everything he will ever have to give. Eiko, mouth open in an almost erotic silent moan, strains towards it, and buries her face in the snowy whiteness. Literally. By the end of the duet, rice is everywhere -- and it is the only thing that matters in this bleak landscape of longing.  

“Hunger” requires some endurance, but it’s worth the effort. David Ferri’s sensitive lighting makes for stunning imagery, washing watery blues over Eiko & Koma until they appear corpse-like, while Charian and Peace glow with vitality under warm ambers. A swooping black bird painted on an ascending drop during the performance ominously suggests the hunger that haunts us all, and it’s as if life and death are illuminated by a few well placed strokes.

It’s easy to slip into hyperbole when describing Eiko and Koma, however. They are so passionately committed, and their work crams such huge themes into intimate theater that it’s challenging to keep from reeling off superlatives.

 So I won’t. I’ll just urge you to go. If you can stay alert during “Hunger,” you may well see all of human experience stripped down to a simple history of raw longing.

 Photos:

Top: Eiko & Charian by Gregory Georges
Middle: Eiko & Koma by Al Hall
Bottom: Charian with Peace by Al Hall