STRENGTH
THE LIVING TAROT
Artistic Director
Cheryl Flaharty
Dancer
Emily Henderson
Production Assistant
Brian Gustaveson
Creative Assistant
Dack Quigley
Costume and Set Design
Cheryl Flaharty
Lighting
Janine Myers
Video Editing
Neal Izumi
Creative Team
Rey Lopez, Karen Kiefer, Mo, Dee Laris, Carlyn Wolfe, Mike Pryor, Amanda Sims, April Mae Bartelme, Rose Wolfe, Ginger Royal, Trish Brubaker, Chris Barreto, Aaron Lowe, The Dancers.
Supported by the Hawai`i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawai`i or grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cades Foundation, and Jean Rolles.
Photos: Darren Miller, Bryan Gustaveson, Mike Pryor, and Sergio Goes.
ABOUT THE TAROT
One of the most ancient studies of enlightenment and discovery of the authentic "Self”, Tarot images– linked to ancient beliefs, mythologies, and religious systems– form the seeds of fundamental psychological and spiritual experiences. Often associated with magic and the occult, the deck is the precursor to our well known playing cards.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Originally created and performed in 2007, ‘The Living Tarot’ was the fourth interactive production of IONA’s diverse Salon Series which offered audiences a once in a lifetime provocative interpretation of eleven of the Major Arcana Tarot cards. The show took place in a century-old house located on Oahu's Pali Highway (dubbed, 'The House of the Living Tarot'), in which the living installations became personal encounters as audience-members roamed from room to room to experience the cards they were dealt as they walked in the door. The audience experienced each of the 5-minute tarot card performances in their own unique order. The dancers performed their pieces ten times each evening - a total of 60 times through the run of the show.
ABOUT STRENGTH
Strength is the 11th Major Arcana card in most tarot decks, and the first appearance of a mortal woman - yet she is no ordinary woman for she is pictured taming a lion. Her power lies in her hands which fearlessly grasp the lion’s jaws.
The modern interpretation of Strength stresses discipline and control. The lion represents the primal or id-like part of the mind, and the woman, the 'higher' or more elevated parts of the mind. Strength tells us to be wary of base emotions and impulses, to tap into our instinctual forces, and to sacrifice ego power for another kind of inner strength.
The role of the feminine as the mediating influence between human consciousness and the primitive psyche is celebrated in countless fairy tales such as “Beauty and the Beast”. In these stories, through the woman’s loving acceptance of its bestial nature, the animal is not only tamed but is transformed as well.
IONA’s Strength resides in the small room just off the living room in “The House of the Living Tarot”. Eight of her audience members don animal masks. She enables them and trusts them to support her weight through counter balancing with her. They ultimately allow her levitation by the end of the dance.
BRING STRENGTH INTO YOUR LIFE
The Strength card represents inner strength and the power of the human spirit to overcome any obstacle. Its main lesson is that emotions must be transcended if spiritual wisdom and intuition are to be awakened. Your inner voice is often drowned out by the constant noise of emotion and preoccupation with fear. Only once you have eliminated these raw emotions can you begin to create the silence you need. So conquer your fears, control your impulses, and never lose patience with yourself or what you are doing.
