Between Light and Shadow: The Art of Remembering Through Dance

Description

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.
— Anaïs Nin

Join me for a journey into perception, memory, and vulnerability as experienced through contemporary dance. In this episode, I reflect on two captivating works: Corina Kinnear and Company's "Forgotten Time" and Jordan Saenz's "The Shadow Poems". Discover how movement resonates with our inner stories and draws us into the ebb and flow of time.

A Few Key Takeaways

1. Forgotten Time by Corina Kinnear and Company: Shifting Memories, Elastic Time

Corina Kinnear's "Forgotten Time" envelops you in a contemplative, almost cinematic world. Imagine a stage awash in subtle lighting as dancers drift in and out of shadow—each movement a meditation on how memory and perception stretch and contract the moments that make up our lives.

The choreography doesn't just recount events; it surfaces the nostalgia and anticipation that inform how we experience time itself.
Music, lighting, and presence work together to prompt reflection: Which memories do we hold onto? Which do we let slip by?

Dance Life Parallel: Artistic creation—and our lives—are shaped by how we recall the past and imagine the future. Every step carries the echo of memories remade in the moment.

2. The Shadow Poems by Jordan Saenz: Dancing with Vulnerability

"The Shadow Poems," co-created and danced by Jordan Saenz and Ariana Daub, exposes the intricacies of our inner world—dysregulation, fear, surrender, grief, and the hard-won gift of self-compassion.

The dialogue between the dancers' bodies is riveting: sometimes leaning in for support, breaking away. It's a study in dependency and the bravery it takes to let go.
The motif of shadow—shifting and morphing as the dancers approach the light suggests how appearances, attachments, and identities are amplified or diminished by our proximity to what we seek.
The choreography conjures the yoga concept of aparigraha (non-attachment), posing the question: What are you holding onto too tightly?

Dance Life Parallel: Vulnerability is a practice, onstage and off. Recognizing it and moving through it is where transformation lives.

3. Personal Reflections: When Life Meets Performance

It's those small, unscripted moments that shape the experience:

A crowded lobby, running into a familiar face, delayed seating—all set the stage for anticipation and heightened focus.
Unexpected choices—a country tune opening the show—snap you to attention and invite you to let go of preconceptions.
Noticing how your own influences (for me, a "Devious Maids" binge) color your interpretation of movement, plot, and energy.

During the performance, imaginative space flourished. Interactions between light and movement—like the illumination of a single hand—invited both focus and daydream. Tiny energy exchanges between dancers, fleeting yet powerful, reminded me how much dance (like life) is shaped by the subtlest shifts.

4. Broader Context: The Dance Between Self and World

Both "Forgotten Time" and "Shadow Poems" are part of a broader evolution in contemporary dance—one that embraces vulnerability and introspection. These works aren't just for the dancers; they're for us, the audience, too. We are asked to examine our attachments, notice what colors our perception, and find meaning in what changes as we move toward our goals.

As Anaïs Nin said, we see and experience not the world as it is, but as we are in this moment.