THERE IS AN ELEPHANT IN THIS DANCE

Set around an enormous elephant costume, the evening length quartet There Is An Elephant In This Dance looks at issues of how a singular body can house multiple histories and the difficulty of aligning oneself with a single cultural identity. Premiering in May 2009, choreographer/performer Lionel Popkin, is joined by “Bessie” Award winning dancer Carolyn Hall and the inimitable Ishmael Houston-Jones, all slyly interrupted by 33 Fainting Spells alum Peggy Piacenza. The elephant is a rich and contradictory image in this work. First it evokes Ganesh, the mythological god of fortune and the remover of obstacles, but it also retains its long-standing relationship to memory; which is, of course, a very difficult obstacle to overcome. Finally, the bulkiness of the elephant’s body shifts our perception of the dancing figure and what it should look like. The distinction between the zoologically costumed body of the elephant and the human under layer, serves as an apt metaphor for how external skin as a marker of identity is in contrast to the underlying complexity of the person underneath. The piece will be touring from fall 2009, and is designed with the idea of a fluctuating cast in mind. On tour, for instance, many of the roles could be performed by guests that toured with the work, or were from the local community. This hybrid structure, where some of the dancing guests are local and some travel with the company would mean Popkin would come to the site early, teach workshops and rehearse with the local cast. The piece features costumes by Jean Landry, lighting by Kathy Kaufmann, and original music by “Obie-” and Bessie-” winning composer, cellist and vocalist Robert Een.