Dancing in Air
The aerial ballet by the four women of Samadhi is beautiful, thrilling and dangerous. Take the grace and precision of ballet, the flexibility of yoga and the whole-body strength, balance and technique of an acrobat.
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it’s just kind of a side passion, a luxury.”
The passion is clearly evident. Nakama lifts her shirt to reveal bruises on her waist and explains that the “falls” down the silk act like carpet burn. “But you get used to it after a while,” she says. “In the moment, in the performance, you don’t feel it at all.”
Wearing long sleeves and ankle-length tights helps protect against burn, and silk (actually made of polyester) that is stretchier also helps buffer the impact of the fall.
The aerial work demands that performers stay in shape, so they are all involved in various forms of cross training. Nakama does capoeira and belongs to a hula halau. Miars dances with Iona, Young goes to the gym and Torres goes running almost every day and performs four times a week. They all practice yoga and traditional forms of dance.
“(Aerial work) is about being a collective,” Nakama explains. “I think that’s why we enjoy working with Andrea. She’s the director of the company, but we’ve all done our own pieces and it’s all with our own heart and soul and what we feel our assets are. We are all very different, like some people are more flexible, some have more strength-based moves. And we have very different styles of movement and music choices. I think that as a whole, when we come together, that’s what makes us really unique and strong.”
Samadhi was created in 2004 by Torres and some of her fellow Ulalena dancers, who have since moved away from Hawaii. “Samadhi” is a yoga term. “It is a deep state of concentration, it’s blissful” explains Torres, who used to teach yoga. After a few years of hanging from trees, cables and ceilings, performing for all kinds of events, Torres is eager to have her own studio where she can pass on her knowledge. Samadhi has performed in Japan and will soon perform in Brazil. They have performed for corporate functions for Red Bull, FedEx and many more. They entertained at the opening of Lululemon Athletica in Ala Moana, at the 2007 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards with Nohelani Cypriano, at the Contemporary Museum, the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and for private functions from baby luaus to funerals. But her goal is to have a school.
“I always wanted to be a director,” notes Torres. “Now that I’m getting to the end of my performing career I started a company, and I can continue my dream of training new people.”
She’s only in her 30s, but such physically demanding work makes for a short career. Nevertheless,
Torres isn’t about to step down from the silk anytime soon.
“I will perform forever,” she admits. “You’re probably going to see me onstage when I’m 80 years old, but this is the peak. So now it’s teaching other people. It’s passing it on. It’s inspiring to collaborate and share and to look in the kids’ eyes and see that they’re dreaming their dreams.”
Samadhi will perform at First Friday June 6 and Aug. 1 at the Hawaii State Art Museum. For a full list of upcoming performances and workshops, visit www.SamadhiHawaii.com
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