STATIC & DYNAMIC (1992)
Choreography: Lily Cai
Music: Gang Situ & Gary Schwantes
Lighting Design: Jack Carpenter

Against the ever changing backdrop of mysterious tones, echoing Asian-sounding music, and the multi-image projections of

the thousand hands of Buddha, a woman sits enthroned on top a pedestal with ten arms radiating from her back.The arms begin to move, contracting and expanding at first like the waves of an ocean current, then like the tentacles of a sea creature, and then like the spokes of a giant wheel. With vivid kaleidoscopic arm patterns, Cai's Static & Dynamic is a mesmerizing work that draws audiences into the world of a solemn and suspenseful goddess.

PRESS QUOTES

• "Inspired by the statues of the thousand-armed bodhisattva of compassion found throughout East Asia, the dancers remained static in a tight line high on a pedestal, but they constantly moved their arms and hands, creating the appearance of the thousand arms that protect the universe. Projected on a scrim in front of the dancers was a constantly changing array of the Buddha's hands, black silhouettes of the palms with eyes in their centers -- first a few, then many, then seemingly a thousand. Meanwhile, the dancers continued to move their arms gracefully to the strains of modern synthesizer music while the jewels on their fingers caught and reflected the dim stage lighting."
~ Julia Sopalski, Anchorage Daily News

• " It was a fascinating sight, never the same twice. As the lights finally dimmed, you could see the hands glittering to the end. But the only figure you ever saw was the "statue" and its basic position never changed."
~ William Glackin, The Sacramento Bee