'Paint' a performance canvas

By Carol Egan
Special to The Advertiser

Maile Baran, Chandra Miars and Liz Grote are among the performers in IONA Contemporary Dance Theatre's "Paint by Number." Carl Hefner 'Paint by Number' By IONA Contemporary Dance Theatre 8 p.m. today and Saturday King Kalakaua Plaza, fourth floor $20 general, $17 advance 528-0506

The performance space on the fourth floor of the building is a large empty room that is slated to become a Japanese restaurant. "Because of the nature of this piece, we are plasticizing the space and giving people in the first rows of seats plastic sheets to protect them," said IONA artistic director Cheryl Flaharty.

Protection may indeed be necessary, judging from the recent rehearsal I attended at IONA's studio (my pants and purse still bear witness to the event; I was assured, however, that the paints would wash off). In addition to using mustard containers to squirt each other and their surroundings, the 12 dancers slosh, dab and dribble bright paints from metal pails and large metal bowls. Flaharty has settled on Crayola tempera as the paint of choice.

"This whole show is based on an improvisation I've been doing for a long time," Flaharty explained. "I ask the dancers to 'paint' an imaginary space with their bodies, using different body parts and brushing techniques to move through space. Eventually I decided to try using real paint." This is a distinct turnaround from the elaborate costumes and sets Flaharty usually creates for her productions.

The work, an extended structured improvisation, is roughly divided into three sections, each of which includes several directions for each group of dancers. To facilitate the process, Flaharty rehearses with four dancers at a time. The night I attended, she was working with the red/yellow/orange group.

The difficulty she perceives is "how to paint and dance at the same time; how to be aware of your actions and your audience at all times."

"It's turning out to be quite humorous, much to my surprise," Flaharty said. "It wasn't my intention, but there's something so taboo about making a mess. I think that's where the humor comes in."

As far as cost goes, the Salon Series is by no means done on a shoestring, but it is still much less expensive than a production mounted on stage.

"The cost of paint and brushes is high, and we just have to rehearse with the paint. I love working from the pure white set and adding the color. It's very exciting."