Can your mind’s eye conjure emerald visions of sugar cane, rolling beneath the trades like swells in the Pacific? Maybe you’re a choreographer at heart. After all, consider this: Totally independently and more or less in passing, the dance makers behind attractions visiting the Maui Arts & Cultural Center over the next weeks have pointed to the same natural phenomenon as the inspiration for the pieces in question: fields of wheat, swaying in the wind. A different harvest from our island cane, yes, but visually, not so very.
Created at opposite ends of the earth, the shows promise to look and feel as different as can be, even so. On Thursday at the Castle Theater, Rosy Simas, an enrolled Seneca from the Heron clan based in Minneapolis, presents “Weave,” developed in collaboration with an ensemble of dancers handpicked as much for the diversity of their backgrounds as for their skills as movers and nonverbal and intuitive communicators. Co-commissioned by the MACC, their somber 90-minute tapestry delves deep into mysteries of heritage.
And on Nov. 24 the production company Strange Fruit of Melbourne, Australia, parachutes in with “The Spheres,” the main event of the MACC’s free 25th- anniversary variety marathon. A 20-minute blast of energy, color and pure ozone, the family-friendly aerialist lollapalooza has previously figured as the cherry on the cake of international festivities by the hundreds, from the carnival in Rio to the Sochi Olympics. Picture a quartet of fancifully costumed artistes caroming overhead atop giant globe-shaped Chinese lanterns mounted on flexing poles a towering 14 feet high. Their purpose? Simply to amaze and delight, as no doubt they will.
Simas describes her piece as “a structured improvisation with some set choreography woven in.” Evidently, though the journey allows for detours, it follows a clear road map. “The work is very intentional,” the choreographer continues. “It’s not about the individual dancer having a private experience. It’s about taking individual experiences and stories and wanting to share them with an audience, albeit in abstract form.”
Wherever “Weave” is presented, half of the cast consists of “community performers,” recruited on-site months ahead of the show (and paid for their participation). “The piece is designed so they can learn their parts and be integrated relatively easily,” Simas says. “So far, we’ve done it in the Twin Cities, Birmingham and Philadelphia. And each time, it’s worked really beautifully. Community performers bring a life into the work that’s so energizing. On Maui some are indigenous, some come from other practices, some are deeply rooted in hula, so they bring a whole other energy and groundedness to the movement. It makes things so new for all of us, so fulfilling.”
For the motley crew of actors, dancers, acrobats, circus types and singers appearing in “The Spheres,” joining hands with the locals quite so literally isn’t really an option. For one thing, shimmying up those poles is no joke. Speaking from the Melbourne headquarters of Strange Fruit, Trevor Wight, the company’s general manager, and Phillip Gleeson, the creative director, speak, as it were, in a single voice. They’re a seamless tag team, never stepping on each other’s lines.
Apart from New Zealand, they say, the MACC gig will be their first ever in the Polynesian triangle. Yes, it’s a Maui exclusive. No, it’s not part of a tour. No, when the company was founded in 1994, no one involved had had a clue of the grisly resonance of the phrase “Strange Fruit.” (Anyone in the dark might want to check out Billie Holiday’s classic take on the song by that name, recorded in 1939.)
“Since we started touring in the U.S., we’ve become very much aware of those connotations,” the dual voice continues. “We agonized a lot about changing it. It’s very difficult. We have a very diverse ensemble. We make a lot of references to heritage. We try to remain positive, transformative, to open up conversations with people.”
With all that in mind, Strange Fruit seeks out engagements that are open to everyone, regardless of age or cultural background, free of charge, no tickets required. “Our performance is a gift to local folks,” Wight and Gleeson continue. “It’s such a privilege to be able to present in that scenario. Even in the most exotic, memorable venue, everything comes down to the bond with the audience. We’ve gone to really poor regions and performed in a school somewhere or in the middle of the road. And we’ve had the most amazing experiences that way. The audiences may never have seen a show before in their lives. Yet they’re so open, so accessible. The memories really lock in.”
As headliners of the MACC’s silver-anniversary extravaganza, in the outdoor amphitheater, Strange Fruit will perform “The Spheres” twice. As we go to press, a complementary lineup of homegrown acts is, shall we say, up in the air. The one sure thing at this point, as well as a surefire crowd-pleaser, is Zenshin Daiko, Maui’s all-kids drumming ensemble, a sensation wherever they appear, even Japan, where the discipline known as taiko was born.
“We do 50 shows a year,” says Anthony Jones, who juggles responsibilities as Zenshin Daiko’s managing director with his day job running the chocoholic’s oasis Maui Specialty Chocolates. “So, sometimes it’s hard to get the kids excited. But playing the MACC, which is a world-class venue, that always gets them up to their game. It makes them work really hard. In June we played our 20th annual concert at the Castle. I don’t know if we’re the biggest attraction, but we’re definitely the loudest!”
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ROSY SIMAS DANSE, ‘WEAVE’
>> Where: Castle Theater, Maui Arts & Cultural Center, One Cameron Way, Kahului
>> When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
>> Cost: $10-$45 plus applicable fees
>> Info: 242-7469 or mauiarts.com
THE MACC’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Featuring “The Spheres,” by Australia’s Strange Fruit
>> Where: A&B Amphitheater, Maui Arts & Cultural Center, One Cameron Way, Kahului
>> When: Nov. 24, 4-8:30 p.m.
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: 242-7469 or mauiarts.com
Matthew Gurewitsch comes to Hawaii from three decades in New York as a cultural commentator for The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and other media. Browse his archive at beyondcriticism.com.
