There are many surprises in HYPER_, a show performed and created by Winnipeg-based artist Freya Björg Olafson and presented in Toronto’s SummerWorks Festival.
HYPER_ is a conceptual dance piece blended with multimedia elements and projected videos creating of 3-D stereoscopic effect. We are given chromadepth glasses that create a stereoscopic effect based upon differences in the diffraction of colour, giving us the illusion of colours taking up different positions in space. This is surreal and really cool.
For some of the dances, Olafson’s image is projected on a screen several times, allowing the artist to interact with her projections. Each enlarged projection moves with a slight time-delay for a dazzling effect.
Different dance routines are choreographed to form a kind of narrative. This narrative deconstructs the presentation of the female body. Olafson first appears on stage in a simple black dress, which restricts how much can be seen of the female body. It also inhibits movement as Olafson performs a playful and seductive dance. Subsequent dances involve her wearing costumes that reveal more of the human body and with each change in garment, the choreography becomes increasingly freer.
I’ve never seen anything like it. HYPER_ at SummerWorks is beautiful, psychedelic and mesmerizing.
HYPER_ plays at The Theatre Centre Mainspace
1115 Queen Street West
Tickets are $15
