Iona’s ‘Paint by Number’ will challenge both dancers and viewers

Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre Director Cheryl Flaharty is known for giving colorful, splashy productions, and none fits that description better than her “Paint by Number.”

The production, which she and her dancers are bringing back for six shows over the next two weekends, involves dancers painting each other and themselves in a rainbow of colors. Each of the six shows will require 10 gallons of paint, and while at first blush it might seem like a finger painting party, “there’s an underlying message, because I love those underlying messages in my work,” said Flaharty, whose other creations have included works like “La Madonna,” a celebration of the goddess, and “Living Earth,” an ode to the environment.

The story behind “Paint by Number” is one of creation.

“It’s kind of a theory of creationism through color,” Flaharty said. “You start with the total white void, where (the dancers) are kind of focusing on the empty universe. And then the first color comes, the second and the third, and they start to build.”

She added, “They’re creating a living artwork throughout the course of one hour. By the end of the show, we’ve created a masterpiece in what was a totally white space — and now it is full of color and design.”

The dancing itself is created through “structured improvisation,” a process that’s typical for Iona productions.

Flaharty uses the modern Japanese dance style butoh as the starting point for much of her work. At a recent rehearsal that style was evident as the 10 main dancers — five representing painters, five representing canvases, all dressed in minimalist, all-white attire — began the show at a slow, measured pace.

As the show progressed, the dancing became more and more frenetic and exciting, incorporating modern dance, Bollywood and yoga-inspired moves.

Local band Quadrophonix provided the score and will perform it live, featuring music that features elements of rock and jazz along with Indian, Malaysian, Middle Eastern and Latin music.

Flaharty has previously staged Iona performances at the former Niketown site in Waikiki and the Honolulu Design Center. This time she’s bringing it to the Ward Gateway Center, at the former Sports Authority site that was dubbed The Hub during the recent Honolulu Biennial.

Ward Gateway Center provides space for larger audiences than in some of Iona’s previous performances, but in reality viewers might experience the show best from up close, if they dare.

That’s because paint won’t be staying on just the stage or the dancers. It will be out in the audience, too, with the first two rows of seating designated as a “splash zone.” Plastic sheeting will be available to people sitting there, and they will also be expected to participate in the drama by painting the dancers.

Dripping and drabbing will be unavoidable, so don’t wear your Sunday best. Flaharty uses tempera paint, which supposedly can be washed out of clothing, but she says she’s found it impossible to get it completely out of her dancers’ outfits. New ones are required for each show.

Flaharty sees the interaction between dancers and audience and the use of paint that flows outside of the stage boundaries as an act of artistic rebellion, something that by convention is “not allowed.”

In previous productions the painting has become infectious.

“They’re taking a paintbrush and a beautiful color, and they’re painting it on someone’s body. That’s something that is totally not allowed,” Flaharty said.

“They’re splattering it on the floor, and they’re pouring it on their bodies. All this is something that is not allowed, but they’re doing it with beauty and grace and joy, so that by the end of the show, the audience wants to paint. It kind of brings out their inner child.”

Certainly that was the effect experienced in rehearsal, when guests could not help but smile when invited by a dancer to take a brush from her hand and start smearing green paint on her body.

In fact, because the performance is unusual, it asks much of the dancers.

Dancer Malia Yamamoto, who participated in a previous production of “Paint by Number,” said it is a challenge to interact with people in the audience, communicating without words. “Nonverbally, we have them do tasks, or play with them or draw them in rather than have them sit and watch,” she said.

Another challenge was getting paint splashed on her. “It’s cold,” she said. “There’s a section where we pour the paint on each other, and I’m like, ‘Ooh!’”

Yamamoto sees beauty and meaning in the show, beyond its physical challenges.

“It’s pretty amazing when you look at the other dancers at the end of show and see all these different bodies and colors,” she said. “Everybody’s so different but it’s all so beautiful.

“It’s a nice metaphor for the world, that we’re all different but the same and beautiful.”