Free | Current TV
Posted: 11/2/2011
ODC Artistic Director/Founder Brenda Way discusses her world premiere dance piece, 'In the Memory of the Forest.' She was inspired by her late mother-in-law, Iza Erlich, who, as a teenager in 1941, walked from Warsaw to Lithuania to Moscow in search of her husband-to-be. With a girlfriend, she set out across Poland, Germany and Russia to find her future husband who had departed months earlier. Iza recorded her memories on a set of four audiotapes and always imagined that her story might be material for a dance. Iza, a social worker by trade, believed in the power of art to communicate emotional experience, said Ms. Way. Her story of intrigue, grit, and humor offers a hopeful note in our own tumultuous times.
In the Memory of the Forest is an exploration of resilience and ingenuity.
Way has assembled a world-class group of collaborators for this new work. Video artists David and Hi-Jin Hodge s stunning footage, shot at White Oak Plantation during ODC s 2007 residency, serves as a component in her new work; composer and longtime ODC collaborator Jay Cloidt s commissioned score features excerpts from Ms. Erlich s audiotapes; and acclaimed lighting designer and visual artist Elaine Buckholtz, who has worked with Merce Cunningham and Meredith Monk, will serve as light designer and visual director for the collaboration.