Something to see: The Art + The Ink
The Heart Sūtra, the inspiration behind this show, is often cited as the best known and most popular Buddhist scripture of all. It teaches enlightenment through emptiness of the self, with the themes of disintegration, impermanence, flux and that form and emptiness are one and the same.
Honolulu dancer and artist Willow Chang has curated a show that is magical, strange, beautiful and at times intense. In one beat solemn, in the next playful, it is a celebration of the range of human emotions that the heart governs. But just as important to the show is the space between beats, when everyone holds their breath and the room reverberates with only the sound of a single tone.
The first part of the show is part improv, part short scripted dance, music, calligraphy and spoken word performances.
The second part is literally a 50-minute improv session, where musicians take their place and create rhythms and melodies on the fly, and the dancers jump in as they are moved to. Watching the creative process come alive like this inspires wonder at the mastery of each participant, as they communicate with a language that is made purely of sound and mood. It is a jam session between artists of the highest caliber from opposite ends of the earth, who may have never played together before but have the ability to speak a universal language and create intricate pictures as they learn from each other. Memorable pairings include the spontaneous rhythm collaborations between Kenny Endo and Indian Tabla artist Abhijit Banerjee and several dancers playing off each other.
For this two-night performance, Willow has brought some amazing names together, including:
-Master calligrapher Baikei Uehira (he was unable to attend Friday’s performance so his wife and daughter performed in his stead.)
-Taiko master Kenny Endo
-Special guest of the East-West Center Abhijit Banerjee, a master tabla artist from India (only at Friday’s performance)
-Japanese dancer and swordsman Ikuhiko Aoyama
-Artist and instructor Andy Lee
-Twirling Girlish Hoop Dance Company
-Dancer Sequoia Carr Brown
-Japanese Butoh dancer Lori Ohtani/Tangentz
-Slack key musician Danny Carvalho
-Singing bowl artist Katie Fisher
-Bassist Ernie Provencher
-Performance artist Eric West aka Professor Pandemonium
-Martial artist and poet Michael Hamilton
-Mendhi (henna) artist Maya Ball
Since this is a show that cannot, by its very nature, be the same twice, I highly recommend that you check it out at the Honolulu Design Center’s Cupola Theatre tonight.
The Art + The Ink: Journey of the Heart Sutra
Cupola Theatre at the Honolulu Design Center
Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m.
$30
