Flicker

When I hear the word flicker, I think of a fleeting memory, my own quickening pulse, the dance of candle-light upon the shadows of fading night, the blurred wings of a hummingbird: the moment that is youth. In Flicker choreographer Ann Dewey creates moments in time to conjure the quiet, but significant, moments of our universal experience: the journey from innocence to adult, and the indelible flickering moments, which path the journey along the way: the dancers move slowly, with graceful strength and precision, unfurling like the flowers in a time-lapse film; they huddle through dark terrains, which are suddenly illuminated by fireflies flitting; they laugh as they flick tea-towels at each other, and, all the while, we watch as they grow into confident, strong individuals. The set’s atmospheric lighting is as delicate as a mid-summer night’s candle-parade, and is achieved with a combination of set-lighting and torch-lighting: tiny battery lights are strategically strapped upon the dancers, creating blazing visual-trails like sparklers at each move; torches are employed as portable spotlights, illuminating the performance, yet also providing atmospheric shadows that deepen the contrast. Delicate and considered, Flicker recalls powerful/treasured memories of our past.