The brutal rawness and immediacy that we’ve come to expect from Ms. Young, a divisive performer and choreographer, reaches new heights — or newly disturbing depths — in her “Elektra,” The New York Times.
Whether or not you agree with her methods, Young’s Elektra continues to elevate her artistic voice as an intellectually provocative harpy with a force that is hard to ignore. The Dance Enthusiast.
Ann Liv Young is back at Black Box teater with her uncompromising vision of Sophocles’ Elektra. Known for creating work that’s “brilliant at one moment, perverse the next” (The New York Times), Young remixes Greek ritual in her incomparable style by combining passages from three distinct translations. Surrounded by a family steeped in murder, revenge and deception, Ann Liv Young’s Elektra is crazed, authentic, honest, compassionate, steadfast and tragic.
What’s with the pig? “…In abusive situations, I always think of the dog in the corner that sees everything. What can the dog do but just watch? …It was important to me to have this pig because it represents the chorus or the support system for Elektra. She’s really loud, and she’s oinking constantly. Literally with each footstep is an oink. It’s amazing. It’s so good for the show.” Interview with The New York Times.
Ann Liv Young’s creations are essentially a reflection of her life, inspired by her experiences with her dancers, family, collaborators and passerby. Her work combines text, music and choreography that build scenes with different images and then destroy them. Her text´s is explicitly sexual and emotional but it is delivered in a manner that is not. Young creates multilayered performances that provokes and are thoughtful at the same time. She has visited Black Box teater several times with performances like Cinderella and Mermaid Show. This time she is bringing her uncompromising vision of Sophocles’ Elektra.
Known for creating work that’s “brilliant at one moment, perverse the next” (The New York Times), Young remixes Greek ritual in her incomparable style by combining passages from three distinct translations. Surrounded by a family steeped in murder, revenge and deception, Ann Liv Young’s Elektra is crazed, authentic, honest, compassionate, steadfast and tragic.
