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Riah
Choreography: Michaela Cisarikova
Dance Artists: Kayleigh Atkinson, Cecilia Berghäll, Flavia Caselli, Helen Penn, Nick Herman, Paulína Šmatláková, Angela Theodorou, Natalie Watson, Holly Wilmot, Zoe Tsim, Edurne Ruiz de Alegría
Riah creates a world in which a person’s hair stores all their memories. Imagine having the ability to look at a single hair and view the memory attached, or pull that hair out and erase the memory for good.
Premiered 20th May 2016 at The Longfield Hall part of MCDC Triple Bill, UK
"...The peak was the darkness of the stage being broken by a flashlight, held by Nick Herman. His successive highlighting of each dancer (now surrounded by strands of fabric or ‘hair’) which could be seen as representing memories, was simply brilliant. There were clever reactions from each dancer – at times smooth, elegant movements, and at times jerky body contractions – all appearing to be the replaying of good and bad memories. It was impressively envisioned on stage. The intention, the aesthetic, the composition. It all meshed together to elevate a great idea, marking MCDC’s potential."
Gender in Dance
Riah part of MCDC's Triple Bill went on tour to Slovakia and Czech Republic to share contemporary dance into rural areas.
3rd of July 2016 Stara Arena, Ostrava, Czeck Republik
4th of July 2016 Dom Kultury Cadca, Slovakia
"...I liked her exploration of structure, perspective and space and the added production values of impactful costume and lighting designs..." Graham Watts
Riah was selected and redeveloped for the biggest UK's Festival for new dance, Resolution 2017 at The Place, 24th January.
Resolution is The Place’s annual, new year festival of short live dance and performance works by emerging artists.
Collaborators:
Costume Designer: Tania Ortiz
Lighting Designer: Norvydas Genys
Music Composer: Ross Allcurch
Rehearsal Director: Luigi Amrosio
"...MCDC’s Riah which finds movement inspiration in unusual places: the hair on our head. Riah was the largest scale piece of the evening, constructed for nine dancers with luxurious costumes and sophisticated lighting design. Cisarikova created a symphonic architecture of movement pivoting around a long chiffon scarf symbolising flowing strands of hair. As a structural conceit the scarf was effective as it allowed dancers to weave and unfold around each other emphasising both their inter-connectedness and play for dominance."
Erin Whitcroft
Supported by The Longfield Hall, The Broadway Theatre, New London Performing Arts
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