Cindy Ellen Russell, Honolulu Star Bulletin
One of the stars in IONA's Salon Series, Paint by Number uses color as a means to reveal the birth of language, of conflict; the need to share, to be different, to explore, to combine, to maintain purity, to find meaning; to celebrate, to laugh. It is Artisitc Director Cheryl Flaharty’s philosophy that the more we accept that spirit is filtered through the screen of humanity - with all its many colors – the closer we will be to world peace.
Paint By Number features 11 dancers and live music by jazz fusion band, Quadraphonix. IONA dancers are human paint brushes and pallets, beginning the evening in the fertile white void of a blank masterpiece-to-be. As the dynamics pick up, the white floor canvas is no longer pristine and the show quickly blossoms into a kaleidoscope of color and movement complemented and commanded by Quadraphonix' live music.
Paint By Number has been performed in a variety of non-proscenium spaces inlcuding a Waikiki rooftop and an empty retail space. It’s a “hands on” experience for audience members in the Splash Zone – many of whom purchase white tees and excitedly await a splatter or even a hug from a painted dancer!
