Surrealist
dance troupe a
perfect fit
Kailua native makes
By Tim Ryan
her artistic home
with Momix
Star-BulletinIt's funny how things work out. As a kid growing up in Kailua, Charlaine Katsuyoshi studied classical dance and gymnastics, with the intention of one day being a professional ballet dancer. Then, while studying at the University of California, Irvine, the Iolani School grad fell in love with the modern side of the art form. And "a perfect fit" was created, Katsuyoshi said in a telephone interview from Connecticut, where her dance company, Momix, is based.
"I had all the ability and training I needed for Momix, so here I am," said Katsuyoshi, whose family still lives here.
Momix, a company of dancer illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton, is known internationally for its work of inventiveness and physical beauty, conjuring up a world of surrealist images using props, lights, shadow, humor and, especially, the human body.
"I'm very, very lucky," said Katsuyoshi, who is making her professional debut in Hawaii. "I've had the most wonderful experience with Momix."
After graduating from college with a BFA degree in dance performance, Katsuyoshi danced professionally in Los Angeles before being hired for the television show "Fame." She joined Momix in 1997 when the dean of fine arts at UC Irvine told her she would be perfect for the company. Katsuyoshi set up and audition with Momix, flew to Connecticut and a month later was living in New England.
"It was a leap of faith for me," Katsuyoshi said. "I left everything behind and never looked back."In addition to stage performances worldwide, Momix has appeared on PBS's "Dance in America" and in one of the first IMAX films in 3-D, "Imagine," which premiered in 1993. The dance troupe participated in the "Homage a Picasso" in Paris, was selected to represent the United States at the European Cultural Center at Delphi, and has been featured on a Decca Records laser disc of "Pictures at an Exhibition" that won an International Emmy for "Best Performing Arts Special." The San Francisco Giants commissioned the company to open their new spring training park in Scottsdale, Ariz., with a piece that became the forerunner of "Baseball."
In the Momix show coming to Hawaii -- a compilation of group pieces, solos and duets -- Katsuyoshi will perform a six-minute solo called "Orbit," part of what director Pendleton calls the "Classics" show. Be prepared for a lot of hip-swiveling, as Katsuyoshi's dances within a plastic-hoop, working to create an image of mystery and beauty through simple means but virtuosity.
"I try to to create something different out of the familiar," Katsuyoshi said.
The giant hoop will revolve around Katsuyoshi's waist, and then around her raised crossed wrists. Her job is to make the spinning hoop rise up and down but also take it with her as she moves around the stage, leaving it suspended in the air as she dances inside it.
Katsuyoshi knew at age 8 that she wanted to be a dancer, and studied with Ballet Hawaii, Hawaii Ballet Theatre and the Honolulu Dance Theatre.
"Iolani is not a school known for turning out professional dancers, and academically I was not a top student," she admitted. "But I knew what I wanted to be and I graduated from college in three years."
Pendleton, one of the founders of Pilobolus Dance Theatre, created Momix in the early 1980s. The name has a double meaning, Katsuyoshi said.
"Everyone calls our artistic director Mo, and the company is a kind of a Mo mix," she said. "And Mo grew up on a dairy farm in Vermont and Momix is a brand name of cattle feed."
Momix
On stage: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
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