We Rise

Company: Desert Dance Theatre

Choreographer: Anandha Ray

Performers:  Angela Bass, Lisa R. Chow, Renee Davis, Trinity Gracia, D. Daniel Hollingshead, Caroline Liddicoat, Rayshawn Watkins

I love me some post-apocalypse, and that’s the immediate vibe I got from We Rise. The performers were not only in a motley array of distressed costuming but seemed in a very real state of distress and disarray themselves. This piece, choreographed by Anandha Ray, known for her thematic approach to performance, was theatrical from the jump.

The company, situated primarily on the floor, began going through various stages of controlled chaos. I got the sense of an invisible presence, an overwhelming “other” that dominated the psyche of the performers. Whatever it was, it was definitely uncomfortable, even fearsome. Performers would variously writhe, shudder, even go into fits under its influence.

This evolved as individual performers broke free of the group and variously remonstrated, or seemed to plead or make gestures of supplication to this omnipresent force. Occasional solos seemed driven by the same energy.

Lisa Chow emerged as a central iconic figure to the accompaniment of percussion and a Middle-Eastern wail. Practically immobile, she appeared resolute, statuesque, almost goddess-like above the fray, and the few gestures emanating from her persona were commanding. As the performers eventually coalesce in a circle on the floor in front of her, their common tribulation begins to lessen and then cease as she slowly hovers over them, arms outstretched, less like a guardian angel than a Valkyrie, extending her wings protectively over her brood.

I am not aware of the conceptual underpinning of this piece, but the work presented itself with unrelenting intensity and gave the distinct impression of a fearsome situation with potentially dire consequences. The participants were, to various degrees, suffering from and reacting to the presences of some unseen forces. Ananda Ray has used these elements to construct an indistinct but compelling drama that kept us captivated, while Lisa Chow silently delivered the cathartic ending that the audience so desperately needed.

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