DANCE

Suchu Dance presents make eyes at me, October 20-23, 2011, at Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex, 2201 Preston Street.

"make eyes at me" marks a departure for Suchu Dance in its intensity and darkness. Starting with the words sex and death as a point of departure, we are investigating movements and interactions dealing with attraction, intimacy, deterioration, violence, vulnerability and the fear of the unknown. At first the pairing of sex and death was a simple tool to create something interesting: pair two opposites and see what comes from that tension. It doesn't take long to see that sex and death have a deeper connection. They are two things that have been taboo in this world.

Just being reminded of death, people start to latch on to things that are more permanent than they themselves are. When reminded of death people become aware that life is finite and someday they will die. (Somewhat amusingly, science has shown that when simply reminded of death, people are less likely to deface flags, and people in capitalistic societies become more materialistic!) The inevitable topic that comes up in this pairing is sexual violence. There is a frequent association between sex, death and violence with, typically, women being fetishized as victims of violence. How, or if, the dance will address this topic remains to be seen. These are the questions used as starting points as we work on this new piece.

The name of this piece, "make eyes at me," is an idiom that means to look at someone in a way that shows them that you think they are sexually attractive. Despite the darkness of the show, there is some humor to be derived from the concept put forth by this idiom.

"make eyes at me" has a black on black design scheme. The costumes are distressed and abused with the skin of the dancers acting as a stark contrast and counterpoint in the all black color scheme. The dancers have been challenged to go as far as they feel comfortable in being undressed.

A large set piece will occupy a third of the stage, suspended. This object in the stage area is an imposition on the danceable space and an obstacle for the dancers, creating an irregular floor plan to perform in. Inspired by the rough surface and uneven reflectiveness of a geode, it is naturalistic and curvilinear in shape and warm metallic in color: gold, brass, copper. The structure of the set piece is designed to be flexible and have a breath and life of its own. Designed by Suchu dancer Daniel Adame, who is also a sculptor, this will be the second set he has designed for Suchu Dance, the first being the trash backdrop for "The Dirty Show."