Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
Christina Evans chose a perfect place for her Together FOREVER performance, the beautiful compelling performance of remembering our loved ones, at the historic tinglingly incredible Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where colorful peacocks roam freely around the property. Her pain, love and connection are expressed by a red rose who she cherished, hugged, and celebrated with so much finesse. Her interpretive body language reflected all the love and pain she felt in having to let go of someone so dear to her. For even higher effect, red roses are scattered at the entrance, the walk to the performance space and carefully placed on the stage area, around the red around carpet where Tina artistically with the red dress on, tackles her theme. The visuals and sound magically work together creating a world where we are pulled in, to the point we have an urge to stand up and dance with her.
Every gesture is clearly visible, every movement is in line with the sound of flowing water around us. On that property of Indigenous community, a magic of blending all the red colors which are so amazingly synchronized, creates an expression of tranquility. Holding in and expressing anger and emptiness at the beginning turns into ecstasy at the next moment when she surrenders and gains strength to love herself again. By hugging and sending kisses, her inner child is beaming with self-love. The beautiful red, flowing dress elegantly, with joyful movement, gives us the impression that she wants to fly up high and be with the stars. She is an astoundingly beautiful artist, dancer, and actor, with an incredible sense of painting a canvas with all the magically exciting colors when she dances.
'The award-winning dance artist Christina Evans intertwines timeless epitaphs with dance, forging a profound experience that honors life, legacy, and love. Set on the cemetery's spectacular Clarke Island, the performance was crafted after spending days moving through the tombstones, evoking a timely reminder that love and connection are at the center of our humanity.'
Christina, a Los Angeles based dance artist and actor, received multiple Hollywood Fringe Festival awards for her sex trafficking solo TOYS, along with a 'Best Dance Film' nomination at the Australian Dance Awards for 'Made in Australia' spotlighting sweatshop labor. Awarded an Australian Antarctica Arts Fellowship, she spent time with scientists in Antarctica choreographing works exploring climate change. She was also awarded a fellowship inviting her to ancient cave sites in Spain where she developed the dance film series Original Women and performed site-specific physical theatre with the renewed Tony Yap Company in Melbourne and Malaysia.
Her film credits include 'That Sugar Film,' a smash-hit documentary about the effects of a high sugar diet, influenced by Pina Bausch, Christina is interested in what moves people and finding connection beneath the surface.
***Every word spoken throughout the performance is from an epitaph within the cemetery.
Special thanks to Tyler Cassidy + Sasha Dylan Bell