Ocean's the Notion

For what is it to die
but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is it to cease breathing
but to free the breath from its restless tides,
that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence
shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top,
then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs,
then shall you truly dance.

words from "The Prophet"
Khalil Gibran






We got dressed up for surprise number three which usually means in Hawaii, putting on long pants. We were headed to the theatre.

Surprise #3 was tickets to a reprise of one of Hawaii's best performances of the year before it toured the mainland-- "Electric Blue" by the Iona Contemporary Dance Company. This dance company is extraordinary in so ways.

The brilliant Cheryl Flaharty, the artistic director has a stunning vision. First, the evening's production communicated the power of the ocean--its mythology and the danger of its real present. Rarely have I seen a political message conveyed so beautifully. Almost every step of the way we were awed by the twining of the dances to communicate the ocean's stories and the need for us to preserve it. This performance should be performed in tandem with a showing of an Inconvenient Truth. There was a trio of spoken word with dance all about global warming. Flaharty says that "Electric Blue communicates the beauty and mystery of a central idea: our planet and our bodies are both 70% water; they rely on a subtle symmetry to maintain life."

The show at times was playful, arresting, challenging and stirring. At its best like its opening, it was a visual feast. The first number began with the reading above by Gibran. A single dancer and a single flowing line of sand from the ceiling invited us to reflect on the limitations of time for us and for the earth. Other numbers used the sand that had spilled in really interesting ways.

Flahartey combines traditional Japanese butoh dance with contemporary movements including acrobatics. The company is experimental in the best sense. Incorporating poetry, world music, storytelling, politics, mulitculturalism, feminism,video and romance the pay off is mostly sumptuous. Interspersed between the dances were videos of them in beautiful costumes dancing underwater. It was a stunning fairy tale. Even the diversity of the dancers is incredible which includes one person who identifies with the Mahu community here.

About the Mahu community from 'O Au No Keia:
Voices from Hawaii's Mahu and Transgender Communities
Andrew Matzner: Brian has this book which I look forward to reading-

The first Polynesian settlers arrived in Hawaii about 1000 years ago with a culture all of their own. From the time that Captain Cook arrived in 1778, and with the increasing ease of travel bringing immigration from all over the Pacific, to Hawaii's present incarnation as the fiftieth state of America, the old ways have all but disappeared. So little was it respected that the four Warrior Stones, set up over five hundred years ago, had all but disappeared under the sand, and for some years were built over with a bowling alley. Now with the world-wide interest in past history, and with many different cultures reclaiming their heritage, the stones have been restored. A plaque records the legend that they were set up in memory of four healers from Tahiti in the early days of Hawaiian history. What it does not mention is that many of legends suggest they were mahu, or hermaphrodite: "their habits coincided with their feminine appearance although manly in stature and general bearing"

Today, although less disparaged than in many other countries, the public face of Hawaiian mahu is of transvestite prostitutes. "Historically, transgendered people have been unable to control the ways that they are represented to the general public. They have been written about, most often by psychologists, academics, magazine writers and news reporters who have had little interest in actively involving their subjects in the writing and editing processes. Often, assuming that they will be treated fairly, transgendered people speak with writers and reporters in good faith. Frequently the opposite occurs, as they discover that they have been misquoted or portrayed in a negative light."

This, then, is the personal accounts of fifteen mahu or transgender people - health-care workers, performance artists, hula dancers, sex workers, a university graduate, a minister and a retired military officer. They come from a range of backgrounds from Hawaiian families that still retain some of the old ways, to others where they were rejected, to immigrants from the American mainland. They offer an unparalleled insight into their childhoods and schooldays, and their views of their lives in Hawaii as it is today.

On the whole, this was one of the best theatre performances I have ever seen. At times I felt that I was at the artistic equivalent of a dessert buffet. Each treat delicious and mouth watering--but after awhile it is too rich and too distracting. Flavors run together. So too, Flaharty would be best served by having restraint or better yet an artistic editor. Ultimately the only thing that would have served this important work better would have been if it had been tighter and only chosen with dances (which there were enough of) that underscored its theme of the ocean. What makes this company even more commendable is that it tours around all parts of the islands (especially the more impoverished communities) and performs on the beach and in the parks for free.



I have not seen many modern dance performances, but this performance did so many things wonderfully that I would seek out this kind of theatre again. Brian and I enjoyed it immensely and couldn't believe all that we had done in one day. We started in the ocean and ended the day in the ocean.