A 5 minute performance
September 29th, 1998
Closing Night of Orphan Train —
Trained Tales Installation
Khyber Centre For the Arts, Halifax, NS
Meili tap-danced with slinky-bound shoes to an audio tape
recitation of “I could be (…)”. Very early
into the performance, her steps crushed the spiraled wires
into a tangled mess of metal.
The audience viewed the performance from behind the BED
BOX THEATRE. Their view point (through spirals, boxes,
and cracks in the boxspring), ultimately framed their own
looking and shifted the traditional roles of the performer
and the audience.
Artist Statement
The architecture of the Khyber building functions as a stage
for the imagination. I find myself the actress/orphan, playing
out the possibilities of a fictional life. Who would I be
in different circumstances? Who do I want to be if I could
be anyone? I conjure the spirit of Shirley Temple, the angel
of all orphans to guide me. She will dance me through the
maze of possibilities, leading me to the obvious through
the absurd.
