“Prima”
LeeSaar The Company
PS 122
New York, NY
November 19, 2009
By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2009 by Martha Sherman
The world premiere of “Prima” brought back Israeli choreographers Saar Harari and Lee Sher for their fourth show at PS122, a good space for the starkness of the work. The set was three industrial chairs lined against the back of the stage. The lights, a harsh mix designed by Joe Levasseur, were relentless. Nothing was made gentle in this motion, and the shock of moving in and out of blackness and spotlight was not softened any more than the movement choices.
The piece opened with a solo by Hsin-Yi Hsiang, jerking wildly to musical yelling, as she shook, kicked, and traversed the wide space in strong angry strides with raised fist and pained, jagged movement. After an abrupt blackout, Jye-Hwei Lin emerged, tall and angled, her movements more vertical, and Candace Schnurr and Hyerin Lee joined for a parade to a strong silent beat that the four women created and maintained. This was the first of several architectural formations of the foursome. Their straight lines became diagonals, and periodically they moved off and back in balance, one dancer holding one side of the stage with her movement while two or three stood motionless on the opposite side.
Early on, three of the dancers sat on the chairs, dragging them forward, crossing and uncrossing legs, seductive with a catlike alertness. Lin moved in parallel to her seated partners, but she stood, using the length of her limbs to hold the crossed balances. None of them let down their guards, and they watched out for each other, sometimes almost hidden by the black curtains serving as wings. The world was not safe for them. As the vocal track droned about sleepwalking and a “sterilized atmosphere,” their graceful undulations melted, and the dancers did floor postures on the diagonal, resembling yoga half-twists, one leg extended, the other angled over in a combination of recumbent and energized.
The dancers rarely leapt or jumped. Instead, the combinations of wriggling, jerking, kicking were broken by moving down closer to the floor. In a mesmerizing closing sequence, the four women slithered on their bellies straight toward the audience, in one strong line. As they approached the deeply raked seats, their eyes met ours in defiance. We were the edge of the line of their bodies’ sharp, steep angles.
The music, from “Dirty Boom” by DJ Filastine (described as a “political activist and artist,”) was a mix of the cacophony of street sounds, the whistles of a police action, claps, bells, and equally melodious erotic vocals with rhythmic beats. All of this, mixed with long silences, challenged the audience to be still and watch. Surprises awaited around all corners. The musical choices made the most overtly political connections, but in the dancers’ struggle to maintain their power, it was hard not to presume the choreographers’ message about larger conflicts. Each dancer had her own particular struggle, and moved in ways that were only hers. In their only direct vocalizations, each dancer identified herself (“I am Candace,” Schnurr huffed at the end of a seductive prance), but an occasional silent scream was a reminder that each had much more to say, and that there was more to hear.
copyright © 2009 by Martha Sherman
photo: Jye-Hwei Lin, Hsin-Yi Hsiang, Candice Schnurr, Hyerin Lee in “Prima” by Justin Bernhaut
