Going into the experience of “The Felt Room” I was a little nervous. Other people in my class had gone to the performance and said that it was slightly overwhelming and that the beginning was hard to get through because it was so dark that it simulated blindness. Although I was slightly nervous, I was sure that it would be okay because I’m not super afraid of the dark and it was dance so how scary could it be? Walking into the space, I was disoriented because it was so dark, and I started to get more nervous that I thought I would be because I don’t like not knowing or being able to guess what is around me. When people started to touch me, I was not sure how to react. I have been around dance all my life, but all the performances I had experience had been of the traditional sort where the audience sits at a distance and watches. This new situation brought up many mental struggles for me:
1. I wasn’t sure what proper protocol was. Do I move away to let them move more freely? Do I interact with them? Do I just keep standing there against the wall and let them use me then move on?
2. I didn’t know who these people were and I did not know what parts of them were touching me. That made me super uncomfortable, but again, I did not know if it would affect the piece if I moved.
3. The visceral sounds that were going on made me think that the piece was simulating people that were almost dying of cold, thirst, hunger, or any number of other things. When the dancers touched me, part of me felt like touching them back would be nice because they were in some way struggling and there is comforting power to touch. But again, I was uncomfortable and not sure what to do.
I ended up just standing against the wall the whole time. At some points I tried to press myself as far into the wall as possible. I was uncomfortable in the situation, but I felt almost trapped because it was so dark, I wasn’t sure who or what was around me, so I didn’t want to move because I didn’t know how hard or easy it would be to get to an exit. My little space on the wall became scary and comforting at the same time.
Once the lights came up, I felt a lot more comfortable in the space, and I sat down for a little while. There was not a whole lot to take in in terms of movement that was going on, but it was interesting to be able to really concentrate on the small movements that were happening. The slow, smooth, minuscule movements of the arms, and head along with the rolling of the torso made complex movements simple through the manipulation of time. I personally really enjoyed watching the shadows that showed up on the walls and trying to pick out which parts of them belonged to which dancers and how they changed as the dancers moved. While I enjoyed the parts of the piece that were in the light, when the lights turned off again, I left. I felt the discomfort with the dark situations coming back and I felt like I had pushed my comfort boundaries enough for one day.
I think that this performance would be good for people who are trying to overcome their need for control. The combination of the darkness and the novelty of the experience makes people confront their fears about not being in control of the situation they are in. This is mostly because at the beginning you can’t see what is going on and there are people moving around you. You can’t purposely put yourself in an interaction with one of the dancers and you can’t avoid the situation either. You just have react as a dancer does or does not touch you. Overall, the piece can be seen as an exercise in getting comfortable in situations that are unfamiliar and not able to be manipulated by some of the participants.
-Kelsey Sullivan, Cultures of Dance
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