RETURN ENGAGEMENT FOLLOWING SOLD-OUT SHOWS AT JAPAN SOCIETY
You Took a Part of Me is a mysterious and hypnotic display of erotic entanglement and unresolved attachment by “punk ballerina” Karole Armitage. Modeled after Noh, an ancient, ritualized Japanese form of dance theater, You Took a Part of Me depicts a woman’s ghost as she revisits her past to reckon with life’s complexities and search for peace.
Framed by an installation that evokes traditional Noh staging, You Took a Part of Me is performed by three dancers who portray the Ghost, her Double, and her Lover. A fourth dancer acts as a transformer, known as a koken in Noh. Set to a haunting composition by Reiko Yamada, the movement traces the curvilinear pathways of classical Japanese calligraphy, turning more jagged and contorted as the piece unfolds.
