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Consider a world devoid of its endangered species -- skies without condors or Hawaiian bats, estuaries without whooping cranes, jungles without mighty gorillas, trapezes without Christine Berwins. A skink on the brink
By Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.comIf you haven't heard of that last animal, you're not alone. The creature has in fact just been introduced to the Hawaiian islands, a product of Berwin's whimsy ("I wanted to experience a different culture") and the promise of a forthcoming master's degree in dance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. And mercifully, unlike many other mainland imports (she's from L.A.), Berwin's presence will hardly upset the isles' fragile ecosystem. If anything, she seems poised to flourish.
Nevertheless, when you see "Eco-Circus," a dance-theater piece playing this weekend and next at the UH, you'll quickly realize why the moniker "endangered" is entirely apt. There's Berwin's penchant for scaling cargo nets while sporting a 5-foot tail, for instance, or her trapeze work minus any net whatsoever.
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"It's not very high, probably about 9 feet in the air," said Berwin of her semi-high-flying acrobatics, delivered in service of her performance as a skink. Not just any skink, mind you, but one with a circus fetish who, along with a stilt-walking gorilla and jump-roping kangaroo rats, cavorts under the big top in what's being termed a "Last of Its Kind" evening of theater.Conceived and directed by UH's Peggy Hunt, with a script by Karen Yamamoto Hackler, "Eco-Circus" is a fanciful look at the plight of endangered animals and the part we all must play in their survival. But in its concept and tone the show is clearly geared toward younger audiences, for whom humor and flashy theatrics are a necessity.
"I do most of my dance, if you want to call it a dance, up on a cargo net that hangs from the ceiling," said Berwin, sounding not a bit afraid. "I climb upside-down and do revolutions up there, show my flexibility, and all with this big long tail that one of the children in the show likes to try to pull."
The children Berwin referred to are Sammie (Kevin Pacheco), Madison (Claudia Elmore) and Tee (Mitchell Goo), the latter of whose bedroom magically transforms into a circus tent, and thus a venue for the jumping, swinging, cartwheeling animals that the keiki trio must work to save. For Berwin, who studied gymnastics for nine years under legendary trainer Isamu Sakamoto (coach of 1984 Olympic gold medalist Peter Vidmar), her present skink routines are mere keiki play, but you don't get the sense she regrets her reptilian turn.
"I'd never worked (before) with drama and dance performance together, and it's actually been great," she said. "It's brought out a different part of my personality which I'd like to explore." She's particularly interested in investigating the one instrument dancers and gymnasts usually have little use for -- the voice -- and perhaps adding yet another hyphen ("dancer-gymnast-actress") to her resume.
Presented by the University of Hawaii at Manoa Department of Theater and Dance 'Eco-Circus'
Where: Kennedy Theater
When: 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow, and on May 4; 2 p.m. May 5
Cost: $10; discounts for seniors, military, faculty and students
Call: 956-7655
In other words, Christine Berwin's life is a three-ring circus in the making, especially as she's a whirlwind of activity, one moment teaching tumbling at the Kaimuki YMCA and the next dancing as a gypsy in HOT's recent production of "La Traviata."
In her desire to work with local talent and perhaps start her own dance company, Berwin appears to be the best kind of introduced species, that rare animal who makes a contribution without a hint of trauma to the biosphere.
As long as she keeps a firm grip on the trapeze, that is.
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