Eugene weekly., June 16, 2016, Page 21, Image 21

DANCE
BY RACHAEL CARNES
BRAD GARNER OF
GARNERDANCES PREMIERES
NEW WORK AT OREGON
CONTEMPORARY THEATRE
TAKING
THE LEAP
UO professor Brad Garner
premieres Strings! with his
new dance company at
Oregon Contemporary Theatre
P H O TO B Y J E N N I F E R J A M E S - L O N G
F
or professional dancer and choreographer Brad Gar-
ner, inspiration comes directly from community.
“I’m inspired by community and the relation-
ships among members of a community,” says Gar-
ner, whose dance company GARNERDANCES
premieres Strings! An Evening of Dance at Oregon Con-
temporary Theatre June 17-18.
“I’ve always been intrigued by human behavior — that
interaction between people, and how people change in dif-
ferent contexts and group dynamics,” Garner says.
Garner has an educational background in psychology,
and was on track to a career in social work until he stum-
bled into a college dance class and got hooked.
“The way I work, the way I create, is a kind of therapy,”
Garner asserts. “In performances, too, there’s just an op-
timism. The work isn’t bright and shiny, but it shows the
beauty of humanity.”
b
SPIN
WHO’S WHO AND WHAT’S WHAT IN
DANCE THIS MONTH BY RACHAEL CARNES
Eugene’s own hula school, Na Pua O Hawai’i Nei (The Flowers of
Hawai’i), presents its annual ho’ike exhibition June 25 at Cascade
Middle School auditorium, 1525 Echo Hollow Road. All classes will
perform, from preschoolers through kupuna (elders).
It’s all too easy to dismiss this art form. How many tipsy
mainland tourists have watched an overpriced hotel hula show and
thought, “What’s the big deal? I could do that.”
Hula, however, is considered a gift from the gods, a sacred form,
handed down by Laka or, in other stories, Hi’iaka or Pele. In ancient
Hawai’i, the oli (chant) was a basic vessel of culture; chants were
used to praise the gods and chiefs, to preserve a story or lineage,
and to mark special occasions.
For this weekend’s show, Garner brings in some heavy
hitters from the local dance world to collaborate: Shannon
Mockli (UO dance faculty), Laura Katzman (UO dance
MFA alumnus), Mariah Melson (UO dance BA), as well as
Suzanne Haag, Antonio Anacan and Cory Betts of Eugene
Ballet Company, all to help execute the full-length work
Strings.
Accompanying music includes Antonio Vivaldi, Arcan-
gelo Corelli, Jason Kao Hwang, Ayman Fanous and Bon
Iver.
“These artists represent perspectives from the 1600s
until today and both Eastern and Western musical ap-
proaches,” Garner says.
The performance explores themes of support and trust.
And as Garner leaps into the unknown, self-producing and
incurring all the associated expenses, including space rent-
al and paying his dancers, the metaphor isn’t lost on him.
When the missionaries came to the islands in the 1820s, they
considered hula an immoral practice and tried to ban it, but it was
preserved in the more rural areas. When Kawika (David) Kalakaua,
the last king of Hawai’i, took the throne in the 1870s, he sought to
rekindle Hawaiians’ pride in their culture. Hula came out of the closet,
and big hula performances were a significant part of that.
Hawaiians eagerly adopted the hymn music brought by the
missionaries, and before long a musical culture was born: By the
late 1800s, Hawaiians were writing their own songs, in their own
language. Guitars were introduced in the 1830s and Hawaiians
invented their own playing style method of tuning called ki ho’alu, or
slack key. The ‘ukulele was introduced around 1880 and, inevitably,
a new style of hula evolved called ‘auana, which means “to wander or
drift.” It’s what non-Hawaiians are most familiar with today.
Never been to an authentic hula show? Here’s what you can expect:
Hula kahiko is the ancient style and is done to a chant, with a
lead percussion played on the ipu heke (large double-gourd) or pahu
(large drum). The mood is serious and the dress is usually subdued
earth tones, and often made from natural materials.
Hula ‘auana, meanwhile, is the modern style, and is done to either
live or recorded songs. The mood is more light-hearted, and can range
from fast and rascally to slow and evocative. The dress can be almost
anything, usually bright colors with pa’u skirts and blouses for women
and trousers and colorful shirts for men. (A typical hula show starts
with some kahiko and then has a lot of ‘auana.)
This year’s Na Pua O Hawai’i performance is a tribute to
“Can I cultivate a show? In mid-June? After the faculty and
students have left?” he wonders.
Though Garner is a tenured professor in the UO School
of Music and Dance, he says he’s purposely chosen to es-
tablish his newly minted company away from the so-called
“ivory tower” of academia. Because sometimes, you just
have to take risks. “It’s important to model courage,” he
says. “It requires courage to live your life and to love oth-
ers.”
Garner is married and has two children in high school.
But the dream of launching a contemporary dance com-
pany called to him. And the time is now.
“Strings is a metaphor for community, for harmony, for
the strings that connect,” Garner says. “I’m willing to take
a leap. I hope it encourages you to leap as well.”
GARNERDANCES presents Strings! An Evening of Dance 8 pm Friday and
Saturday, June 17-18, at Oregon Contemporary Theatre; $12, $10 students &
seniors, info at octheatre.org.
Kamehameha the Great, first king of Hawai’i. Doors open at 1 pm for
the 2 pm show; $10 ages 10 and up, $5 for ages 5-9, free for ages 4
and under. (And there will be food available, and shave ice.)
Earlier the same day, Dance Northwest sponsors a workshop with
Kumari Suraj, who specializesin waacking, house, vogue, hip hop, Afro-
fusion, Frankie Douglas and twerk styles of dance. Suraj has appeared
on and choreographed for FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance; she’s the
founder and CEO of the International Waack/Punk/Pose Festival in Los
Angeles, and director of the internationally known dance companies The
Waackers and Jungle Jills. The performance takes place in the LCC Dance
Studio, Building 5, Room 136, 10 to 11:30 am; $20-$25.
And if you fancy a road trip, head to Portland to explore its
modern dance history. “How do today’s dancers stand on the
shoulders of decades of Portland dancers and choreographers who
established this community?” asks filmmaker Eric Nordstrom, who
presents a work-in-progress showing of the first comprehensive film
to address dance history in Portland.
As part of the evening, a collection of dance films by Portland
filmmakers will also be shown, including Carolyn Altman and
Bonnie Merrill’s Off Location, Waking the Green Sound by Wobbly’s
Yulia Arakelyan, and Erik Ferguson and Carla Mann’s Ching. Film
screening 8 pm June 25 at Performance Works NW.
And looking ahead: DanceAbility International offers a
DanceAbility Teacher Certification Course Aug. 7 through Sept. 2. And
The Northwest Screendance Exposition accepts submissions until
Aug. 15; more info at nwscreendanceexpo.com.
Got a scoop on the local dance scene? Email Rachael Carnes at eugeneweeklydance@gmail.com
eugeneweekly.com • June 16, 2016
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