Music: Ania Vu ania.vu/
Choreography: Noelle Kayser www.noellekayser.com/
Soprano: Kristina Bachrach www.kristinabachrach.com/
Percussion: John Corkill
Dancers: Angel Khaytyan, Amelia Shultz
Lighting: Jacob Snodgrass
Sound Engineer: Hunter Brown
Videography: Vin Reed
March 24, Logan Center Performance Penthouse.
NEW DANCE/NEW MUSIC - a collaborative concert between the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition (CCCC) and DanceWorks Chicago (DWC).
CCCC Program Curator: Paul Novak
DWC Artistic Director: Julie Nakagawa
CCCC Director: Augusta Read Thomas
DWC Operations Manager: Ginger Jensen
“Khuoh-tsuh” is about the struggle, yet genuine attempt and invitation to communicate through vocal sounds with others, despite the language and cultural barriers. Although it is told from the side of the aliens that landed on Earth and are trying to befriend humans, the metaphor of failed communication and vocal reclamation can be extended to anyone, as it highlights the limitations of language.
Musically, there are two musical processes that happen throughout the piece: from gibberish vocal sounds to those that sound like actual words, and from unpitched and percussive sounds to pitched and melodic. These gradual transformations mirror the process of aliens slowly learning English and befriending humans despite the language and “cultural” barriers.
The setting also explores the concept of speech-like sounds and intentionality/delivery - can we guess the emotional meaning of the words even though we cannot understand what they say?