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Experimental dancer Allie Hankins might be quick to stress the differences between herself and Vaslav Nijinsky, the notoriously troubled 20th-century Russian ballet dancer who inspired her latest performance. But her hourlong solo, titled Like a Sun that Pours Forth Light but Never Warmth, presents a compelling and often hypnotizing look into the iconic moves of her legendary muse and the struggle and drive of an artist.
The scene it sets is an obvious nod towards one of Nijinsky's obsessions: bullfighting. The Conduit studio space is decorated with gold blinds over some of the windows and a long swatch of red spandex draped at different points on the ceiling, creating a showy, bold atmosphere.
This is an energy that serves the piece well, as Hankins adopts the stature of a poised but weary athlete—strong, graceful, but perhaps simply going through the motions. She trades off between sharp, brisk jabs, rounded spins and angled arm movements, setting a feeling of weary repetitiveness from the get-go. Some moves seem almost like a stiff salute, while others like the sign of a person who is defeated, with rounded slouches or slow collapses to the floor. Hankins is particularly striking in her robotic arm movements and tight pivots, moving in sudden bursts that become wholly entrancing.
Also captivating is the emotion—or lack of it—present on her face throughout the performance. In one scene, she marks herself with gold glitter, staring detachedly straight ahead as she presses her sparkly gold hand to her throat, chest and collarbones. This is obviously something she doesn't want to do, and she sighs, making it known to the audience that this is something she does out of a sense of duty. In a later scene, she pulls all 80 feet of the red fabric down from the ceiling (where it unfortunately blocked part of the audience view in the first part of the performance) and around her torso and head. She then throws her arms out wide with a "come at me!" posture and a challenging tilt to her chin. This confidence doesn't last long, though, as a few minutes later she's running around the stage messily slipping, tripping and sliding over the fabric wrapped around her, trying to stay upright but either failing or giving up. Watching her hit the ground over and over, tired but determined look on her face, triggers in the audience both winces and empathy.
Hankins' movement
and careful emotion lead to a feeling of triumph and
pain when the piece reaches its end, as she jumps repeatedly up and down for several minutes, referencing one of Nijinsky's well-known moves. It might not be the most uplifting of pieces—it emanates instead weariness, looming challenges and the sense of being overworked—but after an hour of bullfights, bursts of glitter and an emotional and cinematic score, no doubts remain about the strength and dedication necessary for creating great art.
SEE IT: Like a Sun That Pours Forth Light but Never Warmth is at Conduit Dance, 918 SW Yamhill St. 8 pm Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 25-26. $15-$40. Tickets here.
WWeek 2015