Dance

Yvonne Meier

Provocative performer brings Stolen to Danspace

by Meryl Cates   |   Feb 1, 2009

Yvonne Meier

Yvonne Meier

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Some choreographers strive to emulate reality and draw upon recognizable life elements in their work. Others create a portal to the more mysterious, an alternate existence materialized from the depths of the imagination. Both can be effective approaches, but speak to different sensibilities. Yvonne Meier is one of the latter, reveling in the more obscure, sometimes the more fantastical, but always the exciting. Her new work, Stolen, will be performed at Danspace Project on February 5–7, and will provide another glimpse into her provocative dance-making.

“We love the fact that she has a long history with us,” says Judy Hussie-Taylor, Executive Director at Danspace. However, their familiarity with Meier has not made her work any more predictable. Instead she has cultivated anticipation for what she will create next. “I love the space,” says Yvonne Meier, who has performed at Danspace four times before. “They like me and keep asking me to come back, but I love the [venue].”

Originally from Zurich, Switzerland, Meier has been performing and teaching all over the U.S. and Europe. Her prowess in improvisational technique, leading to her own “Score Technique” form of improv, brands her work as fresh and energetic. She was also recognized in 1995 with a Bessie Award for her work The Shining. In Stolen, props are molded and plied to create the unexpected. Stolen is described as “a world of furniture ropes and aluminum.” Perhaps different textures providing varying perceptions with which to experiment and perform.

“Stolen is about aggression, hazing, and destruction,” says Meier. “In between there are very playful parts, and a lot of props. I give out ‘scores’ to the dancers, and I will be in it.” The piece will also include performances by Arturo Vidich and Aki Sasamoto, with their own backgrounds in inter-disciplinary performance art. (Sasamoto has worked with Meier once before, and Vidich twice.) However, the use of props have been a key catalyst in the creation and outcome of the performance. “My ideas have been circling around props,” says Meier. “They were there before the dancing.”

Her performances are regarded amongst those that push boundaries, but propel dance forward. By trying the limits of both the stage and the minds of the audience, dance arouses more than an entertainment value, it becomes thoughtful and meditative.