FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Andrea Torres rehearses in the Maile Performing Arts Theatre at Kapiolani Community College.
Aerial artist Andrea Torres
portrays a light beam in this
weekend's IONA production
Heights don't bother Andrea Torres. In fact, she is quite enamored of hanging out, literally, in the sky. As an aerial artist, she's accustomed to gliding through the air, 15 feet above the ground, as audience members gasp below.
'Destiny'
Production by IONA Contemporary Dance Theatre:Where: Hawaii Theatre
When: 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday
Admission: $25 to $45, plus a $2 Hawaii Theatre restoration fee; $5 discount for students, seniors and military
Call: 528-0506
The aerial work is even more daring and dangerous than it appears because Torres prefers not to use a harness, which interferes with some of the moves she executes. "I have never felt like I was going to fall," she said, trusting gravity, technology and a certain destiny.
"Destiny" happens to be the piece she's performing with IONA Contemporary Dance Theatre this weekend. She will portray a light beam.
The work, which premiered last year, is based on the maternal strengths of the earth and the forces of change. Viewers are treated to a combination of spoken word, drama, video and dance moves suggesting man's downward spiral and struggle to return to an ideal world.
Torres feels natural in her role.
"It feels so peaceful up there," she said. "Nobody can bother me." Her main concerns are staying focused on the part of the ring she needs to grab next, and remaining safe. If fear sets in, she freezes, "so I can't be scared," she explained. "I need to be very focused. I can't think about anything else when I'm up in the air."
Torres hails from Brazil but traveled to New York to pursue a dance career. She had studied dance since she was 10 and became a ballerina while also studying modern dance, jazz, Brazilian and "everything else."
After being chosen for a aerialist role in the "Ulalena" production on Maui, she was sent to Montreal for rigorous three-month training involving trapeze school and safety issues, she said. "Most of the time, we were working with people from Cirque Eloize. Training was a wonderful experience, minus the cold, harsh winter and having to get up early every morning.
"My favorite apparatus is the ring. On the apparatus, I find my own language," said Torres. In "Ulalena," Torres played the role of Hina, the Moon Goddess, and she was responsible for her own choreography.
Torres was also seen in IONA's "Hawaiian Myths and Legends," "Mythology of Angels" and "Worshipping Sun." She also performed in Ballet Hawaii's "The Stars of Moscow" and did film work in "Helldorado" and "The Royal Tennenbaums."
AERIALIST WORK requires a lot of balance and flexibility, so Torres practices yoga every day and even teaches yoga classes twice a week.
Since she became a mom, she says she "feels naturally strong." While many of the other dancers complain that they can't sleep and worry about their moves, "I don't let little things bother me anymore," she said, explaining that her baby keeps her too busy to worry.
"I want to let them borrow my baby for a day, and maybe then they won't have the time to worry," she laughed.
Her 15-month old son, Gabriel, sometimes comes to rehearsals. He is mesmerized as he watches his mom dangle above like a gigantic mobile. "I put him on the floor, and he loves to watch me," she said. Practices are held three to four times a week and last three to four hours.
Teaching the skills to another person is a slow process, said Torres. Others look at the ring without understanding its complexity. "It is constantly spinning, so you get dizzy," she explained.
As a result, she cannot eat before performances and quells her stomach by drinking fresh ginger tea before heading up in the air, "because it keeps me grounded."
"Many people want to try what I do, but once they are on the ring for a few minutes, they are ready to get off," she said. "It's not comfortable. You need to sit there, and little by little, you feel at home."
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