Karole Armitage’s You Took a Part of Me

Above: Sierra French and Megumi Eda in Karole Armitage’s You Took a Part of Me; photo by Julie Lemberger

~ Author: Oberon

Wednesday October 23, 2019 – Karole Armitage’s You Took a Part of Me, trailers and photos of which were apparently banned on Twitter, is playing this week at New York Live Arts.  Drawing inspiration from Noh, the ancient ritualized Japanese form of dance-drama, You Took a Part of Me centers on the memory of an erotically charged love affair which has left a Woman (now a Ghost) in search of emotional resolution and a restoration of inner peace.

On entering the theater, we see the stage set with an elevated platform outlined in fluorescent lights, with a small adjacent space with a low stool stage left; overhead, a square of tube light hovers. You Took a Part of Me is performed by three dancers: Megumi Eda (the Ghost), Sierra French (her Double), and Christian Laverde-Koenig (her Lover). A fourth dancer, Alonso Guzman, clad all in black with his face partly hidden, takes the traditional Noh role of the koken, a sort of valet. The lighting design by Clifton Taylor and the costuming by Peter Speliopoulos were key elements in the production’s success.

Set to a poignantly spare, flute-centric score by Reiko Yamada, You Took a Part of Me unfolds in seven movements. Initially I felt that we might be watching a silent play, but the ballet is in fact filled with gorgeous, stylized dancing that flows like classical Japanese calligraphy. As the Woman’s memories darken, the dance becomes more angular and somewhat smudged.

The Woman/Ghost is first seen seated on the low stool, the konen assisting her with her long hair. Her Double appears: identically clad in long white trousers, they seem like conjoined twins, with their hair entwined. They perform a mirror duet, in sync or in echo effect, with lyrical port de bras. During this, the Lover has taken a seat on the stool; an actor waiting for his entrance, he stares into the audience.

Above: Christian Laverde-Koenig and Megumi Eda; photo by Steven Pisano

The Ghost and her Lover now dance a Memory Duet. To a spellbinding flute solo, they at first seem cordial and graceful, but then the seductiveness veers toward a more controlling stance on the Lover’s part. The konen enters and strips the two dancers down to thongs. The duet becomes intensely intimate, the flute so evocative of their passion. After their climax, silence falls. The Lover silently departs.

As the Ghost dances a solo, Abandonment, the Lover – having put his shirt and trousers on – reappears and again sits on the stool. Ms. Eda, as the Ghost, collapses to the floor as her Double appears. Mr. Laverde-Koenig and Ms. French now engage in a pas de deux, Hijacked Mind, which replicates his earlier duet with Ms. Eda.

In this intriguing scene (Julie Lemberger photo, above), as Ms. Eda dreams on the floor, the Double and the Lover seem to mimic his earlier duet with the Ghost. But here he often controls his partner without touching her. The konen again strips the couple; Ms. Eda rises and she and Ms. French have a competitive duet. As this progresses, Mr. Laverde-Koening reappears – now clad only in his thong – and again sits staring into space. Then a trio, Attachments, ends with the three wrapped in a seemingly naked knot on the floor.

Now the Ghost/Woman is left alone, in white as at the start, the konen again ministering to her needs. She retains one of her long hairpins. As her memories replay in her mind, I found myself wondering if she intended to commit seppuku, inserting the pin into her neck, cutting the arteries with one stroke. This was the form of ritual suicide practiced by the widows of disgraced samurai.

Above: Christian Laverde-Koenig and Megumi Eda; photo by Julieta Cervantes

Between the excellence of the dancers, the power and poetry of the movement, and the sublime resonance of the music, You Took a Part of Me held the audience enraptured.

Faye Arthurs, who I had a chance to catch up with after the performance, interviewed Karole Armitage for Fjord.

~ Oberon