Frankie and the Fish

The first thing you notice when approaching the performance space of In the Mood for Frankie within the lobby of EMPAC is the fish in the floor. Yes, right there in the stage is a slight depression, filled with water, in which swim several small orange fish. “Are they real?” everyone whispers. As far as I could tell, they were very much alive, and not a part of the rest of the projection which lit and decorated the floor. The feature certainly attracted a lot of attention, which many people gathering around to take pictures, but soon the music began and we returned to our seats to watch the performance.

            The performance was part runway show, part individual dance party, part celebration of the Japanese dance style butoh, set to an eclectic soundtrack comprised of everything from pop to classical. The thing that struck me the most about the show was each dancer’s ability to portray distinct characters, despite performing very similar choreography. Each displayed a unique kind of seductive confidence, and a unique kind of pain. One seemed to dance like no one was watching, yet when it came time for the performance to end had the hardest time saying goodbye to the audience. A second displayed a very high level of almost performative confidence, but this seemed to hide a deep inner sadness. The third seemed younger, more naïve, and with this came a kind of inner confusion. The individuality and depth of the three characters seemed fitting for a performance focused on the idea of the muse, and I wonder if each wasn’t shaped by the dancers themselves and their relationships with the choreographer.

            Maybe halfway through the performance one of the dancers stepped over the short river containing the fish, and his trailing foot briefly dragged through the water, sending a spray across the stage. A few moments later, a second dancer emerges with a few towels and a plastic jug of water. As the first continues with his choreography, the second slowly, deliberately dries the stage, then ceremoniously pours from the jug to top off the water. This moment prompted the greatest debate following the show. Did the dancer intend to splash the water or not? The dancers exhibited such incredible body control throughout the show I can’t imagine him becoming careless enough to forget the fish beneath his feet and doing it accidentally. But my friend swears she saw one of the small fish come flying out onto the stage, and certainly that could not have been purposeful. The more interesting question to me is does it matter if it was intentional or not? Because it happened, it is now a part of the performance, even if just for one night. Live performances inherently contain an element of chance, of unpredictability. It will never be the same from show to show, and this is what separates the medium from static forms like painting, or recorded things like video. That moment, and the fish in the floor, will likely be remembered by myself and the rest of the audience for some time, making it an integral part of the experience of In the Mood for Frankie.