In the Memory of the Forest

sf chronicle 2009
By Mary Ellen Hunt
As with most of Way’s work, arresting visual design helps to mold a multilayered and semi-abstracted
story, and “In the Memory of the Forest” accomplishes a lot through video projections by David and Hi-
Jin Hodge, which place us in a web of trees peering through misty memories. Jay Cloidt imbues the score
- which also includes additions from Paul Dresher – with hints of hip klezmer, and the voices and strings
enhanced by electric effects enlarge the perception of a cavernous, humid forest space.
The 12 dancers surge forward in lines, drift like irresolute ghosts wandering the forest and crawl across the floor in churning masses of humanity against a back-projection of trees. Life-size projections of the dancers dart though the trees as their onstage counterparts flit across the stage in a compelling bit of video magic reminiscent of artist Bill Viola. But Way and the Hodges are canny about their use of space, often allowing the performers to inhabit the darkness at the bottom of the screen, while lighting designer Elaine Buckholtz artfully contrives a seamless transition from the video space to the stage, meshing images with the reality.
It almost goes without saying that “In the Memory of the Forest” is one of Way’s most personal pieces – she’ll discuss the work at a lecture Thursday evening, at the Contemporary Jewish Museum-and it’s also
one of her best and most affecting.

San Francisco Bay Guardian Online 03/18/09
By Rita Felciano
Way’s elegiac In the Memory of the Forest was inspired by her mother-in-law’s escape from Poland in 1941 to find the man she loved. The work ended with parts of a recording — incorporated into Jay Cloidt’s musical score — of Iza Erlich telling her story. The audio was fragmented, pensive, and a little scratchy, just like Way’s choreography. Instead of fashioning a narrative, Way explored the anxiety, uncertainty, and determination — as well as the innocence and sense of loss — inherent in Erlich’s experience. More than anything, this is a piece about remembering. Cloidt’s music was multilayered and supportive; in the hands of Elaine Buckholtz’s set and lighting design, David and Hi-Jin Hodge’s video work looked first rate.

Voice of Dance.com 2009
By ALLAN ULRICH
What the dance does is to approximate the state of mind of a person in flight between a world of madness and death and an uncertain future. And for this, Way has lined up an impressive team of multimedia collaborators. Video artists David and Hi-Jin Hodge have provided a film of a forest in which dancers emerge from the brush and sometimes retreat into it. The performers sometimes blend into their live selves, and if it looks a mite confusing, well, our memories sometimes don’t earn points for logic, either.