"Eurydice" was created in close collaboration between Malcolm Shute and Erica Rebollar. Our version explores the idea of rescue from the point of view of Eurydice, rather than that of Orpheus. Orpheus goes to Hades to resurrect his wife, then must lead her out of the underworld without looking at her. We considered that this would create a huge sense of obligation on the part of Eurydice: she must feel beholden to Orpheus thereafter. What if it was too great a price? What if Eurydice was unwilling to sacrifice her independence even for her life?
Our dance retells the myth in which the two must not look into each other's eyes during their underground passage. They share the intimacy of lovers who long to be together, but won't be frank about what they really want in the future. Orpheus wraps his arm around Eurydice's shoulders, turns toward her for an embrace, but Eurydice drops her head backward so that they cannot come face to face.
Eurydice premiered in Erica Rebollar & Friends: 40 and Up at Joe's Movement Emporium, Mt Rainier MD, as well as the Inhale Performance Series in Philadelphia. Photos by Ellen Rosenberg.