VIEWPOINTS – The Shed’s OPEN CALL artfully continues with Nazareth Hassan, Rachika Nayar, and AnAkA

In recent days, I continued my immersion in Open Call, The Shed’s thoughtfully curated series which has been providing up-and-coming artists – particularly those with new and/or marginalized perspectives – a major platform to express what’s been churning in their minds. Last weekend’s diverse crop of shows included artful performances by Nazareth Hassan, Rachika Nayar, and AnAkA.

Nazareth Hassan and his ensemble perform at the McCourt, courtesy of The Shed’s Open Call series.

First up was a show by Nazareth Hassan, whose ensemble specializes in a type of performance that uses text-based choral chanting to explore the notion of identity through speech. For most of the show’s 90 minutes, Mr. Hassan and his committed performers uttered organically-constructed tapestries of words to convey pre-ordained sentiments (e.g., gratitude, failure, faith) – but in a way that de-emphasized the bodies from which the voices arose. In other segments, however, the audience was met with silence as the performers serenely walked about in repeated patterns without uttering a word. But what did it all mean? Mr. Hassan’s experimental work seems to be making the point that disembodied voices lose their ability to articulate without bodies, while bodies without voices are essentially inanimate. Only together can there be meaning in words, thereby allowing for the possibility of thought and identity.

Cellist Issei Herr and Rachika Nayar performa the McCourt, courtesy of The Shed’s Open Call series.

Then we have Rachika Nayar’s free association concert, which in stark contrast to Mr. Hassan’s show, eschews both body and voice altogether. For this immersive instrumental experience, the Indian American musician, who remained shrouded in shadow throughout the performance, has created an ethereal electronic score that registers on an otherworldly level, as if the soundtrack to some sort of cosmic landscape. Painstaking effort was made to conjure a space to match the music’s ambiance – dense fog and atmospheric lighting enveloped the audience in a womb-like environment as soon as they stepped into the massive chamber that is the McCourt. In summary, the 50-minute concert, which also featured excellent cellist Issei Herr and projected snippets of loosely suggestive video (culled from 52 Short Films by Brooklyn-based filmmaker Frances Arpaiaon), held me in a soothing trance throughout.

The aftermath of AnAkA’s performance of “AKTIV8 Archive Portal”, courtesy of The Shed’s Open Call series.

Lastly, I attended AKTIV8 Archive Portal, AnAkA’s sprawling ritual of cleansing and healing. Using a wide array of mediums (including film, music, dance, herbal arts) to shed light on archived knowledge, the piece aims to activate and celebrate the tenuously preserved stories, ways of life, and wisdom of healers, artists, and spiritual guides of marginalized cultures. The result is a performative collage at the intersection of religious ceremony, documentary, and entertainment. Even if the evening currently lacks somewhat in structure, I nevertheless felt in the presence of authenticity and the spirits of past generations. Joining the resourceful and multi-talented AnAkA onstage at my performance were the dynamic dancer/choreographer India Sky and the soulful musician Victor Morris on various brass and woodwind instruments.

RECOMMENDED

OPEN CALL
Theater / Dance / Music
The Shed
Performances scheduled through June 26 (art exhibit through August 1)

Categories: Dance, Music, Other Music, Theater

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