written by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
“An enhanced version of a video recording of L.A. police officers fatally shooting a homeless man on skid row Sunday appears to show the man’s hand reaching in the direction of an officer’s waistband.
A Times review of the video shows the officer quickly pulling away at that moment. Then, three of his colleagues open fire on the man.
It was difficult to determine whether the man’s hand actually touched the officer’s weapon.”
-from a report by The Los Angeles Times on March 2, 2015, 3:34 p.m.*
A chest collapsing—as if stabbed in the gut.
An arm pulling away from the neck—as if to tighten an invisible noose.
A hand plunging into a side pocket—as if to reach for a weapon.
A few fingers cocked on a pretend trigger—as if primed to shoot.
These ferocious tableaux cycle through, again and again, within the flickering glow of the Miles Playhouse’s fireside, during an evening of dance meant to call attention to police brutality in the U.S.
On the stage, these gestures read as menacing pantomime, but on the street they could signal very real threats, or the devastating outcome of authoritative acts of violence.
Eric Garner’s last wavering breaths, Trayvon Martin’s iconic hoodie, and Michael Brown’s raised arms, are not far off mind, nor is the fatal police shooting of a homeless man on L.A.’s skid row, just a day after this performance.
Like these intensely scrutinized cases, every sequence of motion actively invites interpretation and interrogation.
Does the lone woman (Talia Vilaplana) in Branfman’s Anticueca, who holds a feigned rifle, intend to shoot, or just to threaten?
Is the woman (Ulka Mohanty) in Sheetal Gandhi’s “I Was Just”, merely reaching beneath her pretend sari to adjust its tightness, or to pull out an unseen gun?
When she also appears to lynch her own neck in the same piece, is she hanging her self or threatening to rope up another’s?
Has she, with her choreographic and dancing counterpart, Sheetal Gandhi, doubled over in pain because of a self-inflicted wound, or because of a murderous attack?
The saying goes that “actions speak louder than words,” but what do such movements truly mean?
And what is the consequence, if we misinterpret their definition?
*As of publication, an investigation into the fatal shooting of a homeless man by L.A. police on skid row – just a day after the final performance of Hands Up – is underway. Visit www.latimes.com for breaking coverage.
Talia Vilaplan in Anticueca // photo by Michelle Nagler
& Extra
“HANDS UP…dance in dire times” took place at the historic Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica on February 27 and 28. Choreographer Suchi Branfman curated these two evenings of dance as part of the “Fireside at the Miles” performance series. The performances were dedicated to the victims of police violence in the United States. For more information on the Miles’ arts and performance programming visit www.smgov.net
[Feature photo caption: Talia Viaplana in Anticueca // photo by Michelle Nagler]