Hanging in the Balance
Conceived and Directed by: Yolande Snaith
Choreography by: Yolande Snaith in collaboration with the dancers
Performed by: Christina Kelley, Kristopher Ross, Devon Brawley, Veronica Martin, Justin Viernes, David Wornovitzky, Keeley Campbell , Sadie Weinberg.
Set and Costume Design: Yolande Snaith
Lighting Design by: Rob Norberg
Music: Handel, Montiverdi, Jocelyn Pook
Hanging in the Balance was originally created as a site specific work, and later expanded and developed for the stage. The piece was inspired by the specific architecture and design of the semi-enclosed lounge of Bar Basic, a down town San Diego converted warehouse,responding to and playing upon the associations that resonated within it; the suspended lighting installation, the chain mail curtains and concrete surfaces provided a stark, linear environment of sharp edges and hanging probe-like forms within which the choreography evolved, counter-pointing and echoing these features. The stage version was reworked around a single, hanging, pendulous lamp, and introduced bold shifts and contrasts of lighting and color. Set to a score of diverse musical sources from Baroque harpsichord to tribal didgeridoo, the inherent darkness and light were explored within this space, both literally and metaphorically, exposing a dance that was both highly contemporary and deeply human.
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PRESS:
"The movement is a marvel of contrasts, a single gesture mixing delicacy and sharper edges.In a deliciously mischievous section, Snaith messes with Handel’s Sarabande in D Minor. At first, the seven dancers match the timing and mood of the stately music . gradually, goofy gestures – a torso wave, a flipped ponytail – sneak into the piece, and soon everyone’s grooving.”
Janice Steinberg, San Diego Union Tribune
"She’s choreographed for film and creates dances like a filmmaker or
painter. “Hanging in the Balance” was pure Snaith in that it grew in
intensity and played visual tricks with lighting and sharp contrasts. . .
Dressed in variations of black and red, the dancers moved as shamans
performing an ancient ritual …arcing bodies mimicked the swinging lamp...the action grew with giant swooping arms and gestures of fluid hands and fingers."
Kris Eitland, www.sandiego.com
Hanging In the Balance was commissioned by Nancy McClaleb and Bound Dance Projects for "Bottle Night", and the Patricia Rincon Dance Collective for the Blurred Borders Festival, San Diego, 2008
