Pile It On

2009

A dance work choreographed by Örjan Andersson.

Pile It On focuses on physical manifestations which emerge from remembering, and the other way around – accessing memories through physical action. The dancers attempt the feat of merging into a collective identity. Merging can be seen as a metaphor for consensus, but also letting go of one’s identity.

One way to describe the performance is as an internal dialogue between two memories/motivations. The dialogue culminates into a switch – a point is reached where a decision must take place. The work ends suspended in a limbo between two points: the decision has been made but the outcome is still not known.

I collaborated with Örjan to develop methods of extracting text and movement from the dancers, and integrating/contextualizing the material into a performance with strong narrative and emotional content. The work is structured as a dialog between different modes of narrative, including but not limited to spoken word and pure choreography.

Dancers are Asher Lev and Yoshifumi Inao.
Photos taken by Erik Berg at Dansens Hus in Oslo, Norway.