Remaining Timeless in an Ephemeral Space

A Critical Review of Ne Sans Opera & Dance's "Hourglass" by Nicole Dreher

            Choreographers continuously struggle with the ephemerality of their work. The short lived stage performance has a certain magic to it, but after the initial performance the choreography ceases to exist. This leaves choreographers with a choice. They can use notation systems such as Labanotation, developed by Rudolf Laban, which is a system of translating human movement into a written score. This system is widely used by dance history scholars to recreate past choreographic works and to create a literary history of an otherwise ephemeral art form (Guest). Or, choreographers could accept the ephemeral nature of a dance performance by allowing their work to exist in the time and space it was created. Embracing the ephemerality of choreography could be done in many ways. Merce Cunningham, for example, wished for his work to die with him and those he worked with, which led to the formation of the Cunningham Trust (About the Trust). Choreographers remain in a fight against time, whether they choose to preserve their work or not. Idan Cohen, with his work “Hourglass”, does what he can to make it remain in this world despite its inevitable non-existence. Through the presentation and performance of the work, the costumes, and the stylistic choices of the choreography, “Hourglass” is simultaneously timeless and ephemeral.

Bell, Theo and Flick Harrison. Hourglass, 2020, Ne Sans Opera & Dance, Vancouver. Ne Sans Opera, https://www.nesans.net/events?pgid=kixvvsm2-214699cb-64f2-4e94-ac29-3693491a99c6. Accessed 16 April 2021.

            March 4th-6th, 2021, the Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF) presented Ne Sans Opera & Dance’s “Hourglass”. This work, commissioned by Chutzpah! Festival, first premiered November 25, 2020. VIDF presented the work online where viewers were provided with a link that led to a livestream of the performance in real-time. The work displays seamless transitions from solos to duets, and the dancers, Brandon Lee Alley and Rachael Prince, move with a chair as if it were another dancer all together. Cohen pairs everyday human gestures, repetition, and stillness in choreography with silence and Leslie Dala’s performance of Philip Glass’s Solo Piano Etudes No.3, 6, 8, 16 to explore what it means to manipulate time with movement. With all performers dressed in a vintage clown aesthetic, “Hourglass” exudes timelessness.

            Presenting “Hourglass” as a real-time virtual performance navigates the virtual dance space in a more traditional way and maintains the ephemeral magic that is viewing a dance for the first time. The live-streamed performance invites ephemerality, a dance performance’s old friend, to the show’s existence in an otherwise perpetual virtual space. Pre-pandemic, a dance performance was ephemeral. The dancers would perform on stage, sharing their movement with the audience in the theatre, and once the performance was over there was no way to revisit the show. Once the pandemic hit, dancers and choreographers were required to adapt. This led to recording movement and the creation of dance films which could be accessed both by the performer and the public whenever they pleased. Developing new works within the constraints of a national quarantine makes it difficult to maintain the unique ephemerality of performance. Pre-recorded dance films and curated shows published to the internet such as Simon Fraser University’s “Interleaving” and “In the meantime…”, can be accessed and revisited for as long as the internet’s existence (SFUContmpryArts). Although with each viewing of the performance comes new insights, having the opportunity to watch the recording again causes the initial premier to lose its magic. “Hourglass” pushes this new-found boundary and not only remains traditionally ephemeral, but embraces ephemerality within a modern virtual space.  

            This work, though ephemeral in nature, is also everlasting in its performance. Audiences can emotionally connect to the work, embedding it into their memory, and thus providing “Hourglass” with eternal life. The most memorable moment of the show is the conclusion of the work which begins with a duet between Alley and the chair. The duet ends with Alley leaving the chair upstage as he lays on his back and crosses his arms over his chest. After a moment, he gets up and sits on the chair while Prince fills the lonely rectangle of light on the stage, crossing her arms once she is lying down. She moves to stand behind Alley as her movements are repeated by Dala. Once Dala is standing in line, they together move the chair and lay it in the box of light. The camera zooms in on the chair and the screen fades to black, leaving audience members with the image of the chair and a strong sense of serenity. At various points throughout the show Alley, Prince and Dala appear to be controlled by their movement. Slowly and unsteadily, they take control of their movement, no longer concerned about the external factors moving them. By the end of the piece, the performers have embraced the ephemerality of life, much like Cohen has embraced the ephemerality of his work.  

Bell, Theo and Flick Harrison. Hourglass, 2020, Ne Sans Opera & Dance, Vancouver. Ne Sans Opera, https://www.nesans.net/events?pgid=kixvvsm2-7178ee52-c5af-4c31-98a0-0f2bf092fe2e. Accessed 16 April 2021.

            This rocky relationship of control mirrors a person’s relationship with time: experiencing the unexpected, heartwarming, and heartbreaking events of life, and eventually accepting the passage of time. This universal experience, performed with the care and passion Alley, Prince and Dala added, creates a timeless work. Each audience member, relating to one aspect of the plot or another, walks away with a part of the work. The short lived 35 minute show gains immortality in the memories of the audience. The non-existence of a live dance performance is inevitable. What is remembered, are the feelings evoked in the audience during the performance. Prince, Alley and Dala not only performed, but lived the entirety of “Hourglass” for their audience ensuring an everlasting and timeless show. By creating a relatable storyline, Cohen chose not to physically preserve “Hourglass”, but instead preserve it in the memories of his audience. 

            The flawless incorporation of balletic, technical movement and theatrical contemporary dance that precedes this ending is not uncommon in Cohen’s choreography. He combines the traditional movements of ballet and pieces them together into innovative sequences. This is Cohen’s choreographic style, and in “Hourglass”, it creates an ephemeral work that stands the test of time. The ephemeral nature of the performance means nothing to the audience when what they are watching is simultaneously timeless and modern. The modernity of the choreography claims this work’s place in future history while the incorporation of timeless ballet creates a familiarity of the piece within the audience.  

            The costumes and makeup of the performers further creates an everlasting impression on the audience. In this particular work, the costume designer and makeup artist, Ted Littlemore, painted the faces of each performer paler than their natural complexion, with purple eyeshadow both on the eyelids and smudged underneath. The makeup for each performer differed slightly, but the 1800s circus performer look was consistent. Prince was dressed in a white button up with black trousers and white socks, whereas Alley was dressed in a black button up with matching black trousers, white socks, and a large frilled collar. The androgyny of the costumes combined with the uniform makeup creates a timeless look, which further supports the timelessness and everlasting qualities of the choreography. Cohen stated in the Q&A after the performance on March 6th that he wanted to dress the dancers as clowns, or the “monumental performer”. The reference to clowns in the costuming effectively creates the timeless atmosphere Cohen strived for. Pale faces and frilly collars allude to clowns, and are qualities that have been proven to stand the test of time. Inviting these qualities into “Hourglass” connects the work to timelessness for the audience, which allows the piece to exist beyond the stage.

            Although Cohen does not use notation systems to immortalize his work, “Hourglass” gains immortality. In light of the pandemic, he had the ability to permanently publish his work to the internet, yet he chose to adapt the virtual space and embrace ephemerality. Doing so, along with the use of timeless costumes and the theatrical balletic choreography, creates a work that lives in the memories of Cohen’s audience. Ultimately, “Hourglass” makes peace with the fight against time: the performance is short yet lives on inside the audience.

Works Cited

“About the Trust.” Merce Cunningham Trust, www.mercecunningham.org/about/the-trust/. Accessed 11 April 2021.

Cohen, Idan, panelist. Live-streamed question-and-answer session. 6 March 2021, Vancouver International Dance Festival, Vancouver BC

“Creations.” Idan Cohen, www.idan-cohen.com/creations.html. Accessed 11 April 2021.

“Events.” Ne.Sans Opera, www.nesans.net/events. Accessed 11 April 2021.

Guest, Ann Hutchinson. "Labanotation". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Sep. 2013, https://www.britannica.com/art/labanotation. Accessed 11 April 2021.

“Hourglass”. By Ne Sans Opera & Dance, directed by Idan Cohen. 4-6 March 2021, Vancouver International Dance Festival, Vancouver, BC. Live-streamed performance.

SFUContmpryArts. “Interleaving.” Vimeo, 4 Dec. 2020, vimeo.com/487030510. Accessed 15 April 2021.

SFUContmpryArts. “SCA Student Choreographers: In the Meantime... Part 1.” Vimeo, 13 Feb. 2021, vimeo.com/513652046. Accessed 15 April 2021.

SFUContmpryArts. “SCA Student Choreographers: In the Meantime... PART 2.” Vimeo, 14 Feb. 2021, vimeo.com/513648329. Accessed 15 April 2021.