A genre-defying piece of music inspired Out Innerspace Dance Theatre's 2008 debut, Juxtapositions.
Muscular David Raymond and lithe Tiffany Tregarthen meticulously matched their movements with the nuances of the music to create an "unseen vocabulary," with magnetic effect.
Now the co-artistic directors return Jan. 11 to 13 with a lengthier contemporary dance duet called Me So You So Me. They will again perform the nearly 60-minute piece to compositions by Japanese experimental percussionist Asa Chang and continue to derive inspiration from Japanese pop culture and Saturday morning cartoons.
As with Juxtapositions, which premiered as part of the 2008 Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»International Dance Festival, Me So You So Me explores how the concept of self is projected and processed through the eyes of a partner, the turbulent dynamics of a couple, and the music of tabla-playing electronic music composer Chang, who's also the founder and former bandmaster of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.
"We were really excited at the opportunity to take something that was such a great debut for us and now go back and expand it as more mature artists with a much more expanded collection of Asa's music and more ammunition from our relationship as a couple, too," Tregarthen said.
She and Raymond drew on personal experiences and outside influences to explore common truths.
"We posed the questions: Who do I think I am with you? Who do I want to be with you? What do I want you to experience with me?" Tregarthen said.
Note Me So You So Me doesn't include the word "we."
Tregarthen says the duo's highly physical work exposes their inner animals and draws on influences that include Popeye and Olive Oil, Charlie Chaplin and Joan of Arc.
"Trying to find things that are simultaneously tender but also a bit vicious, finding these dualities that happen in relationships, just finding inspirations that sort of match the psychology that we wanted to express between these two characters," Tregarthen said.
She and Raymond also studied the use of text in comic books, transitions, and how music is used in cartoons.
Like any great cartoon, Tregarthen says Me So You So Me will appeal to both adults and kids.
"There's a lot that's dark and personal about it, but in the same way that those cartoons reveal these violent and absurd truths about a larger society, at the same time there's this relatability and it speaks to all ages," she said.
Tregarthen and Raymond met in 2004. They moved to Europe where they studied, performed and formed their partnership that became Out Innerspace. They returned to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»in 2007, debuting with Juxtapositions. In 2010 they premiered their first full-length work, Vessel, which featured five dancers alongside other creative collaborators. They also direct Modus Operandi, a contemporary dance education initiative that connects young, emerging professionals with Vancouver's more established professional dance community.
Tregarthen and Raymond perform Me So You So Me at the Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St., at 8 p.m. for more information, see outinnerspace.ca.
[email protected] Twitter: @Cheryl_Rossi
