The third in a trilogy of performances that began with 2010’s “The Lonely Visitors,” the opening of “A Place at the Edge of the World to Call Our Own” represents the culmination of half a decade’s work for RE|dance company member Michael Estanich. A reflection on themes of love, forgiveness and the ravages of solitude, the production is simultaneously deeply personal and reflective of universal human struggles. “Solitude is comforting and welcomed in my life—solitude brings great love revealing what is important to me while at the same time it can shower me with melancholy, spinning me into a state of near despair,” explains Estanich. “This personal struggle is what fueled this trilogy. In a way I have been wrapped up in the isolation of creation for years, mining my personal memory to construct a reality on stage that is reflective of the truth, but perhaps indulged in sensation, nostalgia and preference. I always question if what I remember is actually true, or what I want to believe […] for me, this is a type of isolation bred by solitude.” That relationship also led him to reflect on the distortions of memory that can take place over time, and its psychological ripple effects, a feature of the set design he also made for the performance. Through these pointedly physical components, he hopes to enter the performance with a curiosity about the inversions of logic and reality that his investigations into memory left him with. “I created an environment where the ‘earth’ is above and the ‘sky’ is below. There will be an installation of a field of lavender dangling from the ceiling. The piece will also be performed on a white Marley floor onto which images of the sky can be projected.” This blurring of the lines between public and private truths offers a chance for audience members to navigate all that melancholy with the joy of a finished dance cycle to help them through. Performed by ensemble members Estanich, Lucy Vurusic Riner, Daiva Bhandari, Stacy DeMorrow, Melanie Rockwell, Erika Farkvam, Corrine Imberski, Michael O’Neill and Danielle Gilmore. (Michael Workman)
At the Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 North Hoyne, (773)880-5402. January 12 and 13 at 7:30pm. $20, $15 for students and seniors. Tickets at brownpapertickets.com/event/2721177.
