Empty-Handed is an unusual title for a contemporary dance piece. But it starts to make sense as Vancouver choreographer and dancer Arash Khakpour explains the motivation behind the work.
“I’ve been thinking about the excess in our lives—the excessive emotions we hold on to, the excessive things that we buy,” Khakpour says. “We hold on to the excessive desires that we identify and we think that will get us to a satisfying place in our lives.”
Then, he adds, there’s the excessive clinging to our egos, patterns of behaviour, and unconscious tendencies.
“So, I thought of Empty-Handed as like this clearing,” Khakpour continues. “What if we can be more empty-handed? What if I can find ways to be more empty and try to let go of this grasping?”
Khakpour is co-artistic director of The Biting School with his brother Aryo. The Firehall Arts Centre will present the world premiere of Empty-Handed from Wednesday (October 2) to Saturday (October 5)
In developing this work, Khakpour encouraged four other performers—Juolin Lee, Marisa Gold, Hayley Gawthrop, and Antonio Somera Jr.—to engage in a similar personal reflection. They began back in March 2020, discussing different parts of themselves. However, the project was delayed due to the pandemic, which was declared by the World Health Organization that month.
“What are our gifts?” Khakpour asks. “And then, what would be the opposite of that? What would be the dark side of that? What would be the shadow?”
Empty-Handed unearths shadows
The word shadow is particularly significant. Khakpour is drawing upon the Jungian idea of the shadow as that part of ourselves that we refuse to acknowledge and stuff into our unconscious. According to Jungian psychology, we project our shadow onto others when we feel an extreme and irrational degree of irritation over another person’s trait.
“That’s been something I’ve been trying to work through in my own life,” Khakpour says. “I’ve grown up trying to suppress, deny, and ignore the feelings. And this suppressing, and denying and disowning all these emotions doesn’t seem to help. I think in this process, I figured out that it’s about allowing them to come up.”
At the outset, he wondered if he could introduce Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s concept of the shadow and aspects Buddhism and Eastern philosophy into Empty-Handed. Much to his delight, Khakpour feels that he has succeeded, thanks to the other performers being so willing to join him on this journey. It’s why he says that each one is irreplaceable in this piece because they have all brought their own stories and essence through movement.
“It’s so much about archetypes and mythical characters and the shadow side,” Khakpour states.
The idea for Empty-Handed originated when Khakpour was hiking up a mountain. He had this image flash in his mind of clinging onto a slippery mountainside, holding on for dear life and trying not to fall. Then, he wondered what might happen if he let go—in effect, becoming empty-handed.
Khakpour worked with composer and old friend Alex Mah to create a sound landscape for others to work from.
Watch the trailer for The Holy Mountain, which inspired Empty-Handed.
Text and film excerpts appear
In addition, Khakpour drew inspiration from Chilean-born filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1973 film, The Holy Mountain. It’s about a thief who’s accompanied by seven people, each personifying a planet, who go on an expedition. They undergo transformations with the help of an alchemist.
Excerpts from the film appear on-screen in Empty-Handed. Audience members will be encouraged to leave something of themselves behind.
The production also offers up text, such as this gem from writer James Baldwin: “I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”
Khakpour feels that this is a very powerful quote because it speaks to our layers of humanity.
“We allow ourselves to keep hating and to be in anger, because we know as soon as we recognize that and let it go, we are going to have to deal with our pain,” the choreographer says. “That’s the shadow work. That’s the gold. The pain is the gold—and it’s here.”
The Firehall Arts Centre will present the world premiere of Empty-Handed from Wednesday (October 2) to Saturday (October 5). The Biting School and battery opera are co-producers. For tickets and more information, visit the Firehall Arts Centre website.
