Rain Anya Gyra - Duality

Duality
by Rain Anya
Original Apparatus design by Circus Gear
Original music by Rain Anya
Filmed by Tim Cofield
Artist Notes:
Some of you will want to watch this piece without explanation, so that you can let the images wash over you and connect with a subconscious and metaphorical place, open to non-linear interpretation.
Some of you will want to understand more behind the artist’s intent, the meaning behind the movement, the concept. So for those people, I am including my own conceptual framework for the piece. (Some of you might want to watch the piece first, before reading this, and then come back to this description)
The two characters, and their respective masks, represent Duality. At first glance, Duality looks like “contrast” or “opposites.” My exploration with this piece is around how seemingly opposite energies are, at the heart of it, aspects of the same entity. There are some moments when the two sides (two opinions, two world views, two possibilities) seem so at odds with one another that we almost start to believe that they are separate. But if you allow yourself to peer behind the veil, have soft focus, and let the Dance of Duality express it’s full journey, you will see the two oppositional forces pulling and tugging at each other, creating a tension that, in it’s own roundabout way, creates a perfect equilibrium.
Right now we are living in a very divided world. We can spend our time and energy focusing on the separateness, or the otherness of those who we disagree with. Or we can intentionally try to peer deeper, and listen more intently, to see what’s at the heart of the matter. There are these moments that teach us how to join in the dance of duality.
I have so much fun performing this piece. I really enjoy getting to bounce back and forth between the two opposing energies. The way I interpret the characters is that the front character is all action and fire, and the back character is really good at going with the flow. In their extreme, the front mask is chaos, and the back mask is lethargy. But they keep pulling each other back into equilibrium. The most powerful thing they can do for one another is acknowledge each other, as they remain true to themselves. The experience that I have at the very end, in a fully balanced spin, is one of the most profound experiences I have had in a performance. Because as the performer it feels emotionally exactly as it was conceived of in metaphor. When I’m spinning I feel so at peace and content, the separateness of things disappear into a blur of colors and shapes, the which seems to me to be the most true depiction of the physical world that I have experienced.
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[@miraquarius]

Very interesting apparatus! So amazing to watch you spin so fast! I have a hard time spinning without feeling like I'm gonna barf and I hope it is something I eventually can overcome tho. Love watching you do aerials! You have very original moves :)