Rainer's complete and continued avoidance of the camera's gaze mimics the original relationship between the dancers of Trio A and the audience, and the feeling it gives is one of avoidance due to oppression rather than the dancer's choice. In many ways, this sort of controlled freedom can be seen as representative of the human condition at large, and this is one possible interpretation of Trio A (MIT Press 2009). Especially in the United States and other Western countries, the idea of freedom is often spoken of as a protected ideal, but this freedom is in fact illusory. There are limitations pressed upon us by society that actually severely limit our freedom, and many of these work in ways that are subconscious. That is, we might not even be aware of the restrictions placed upon us, but we perform the "dance" in our daily lives regardless of our ignorance.

Like much of modern dance, this piece is as much an experience for the dancer or dancers -- if not more so -- as it is for the audience. The movements are an exploration of the dancer's own movements and abilities, and as it does not convey anything directly to the audience, it must be interpreted symbolically. Such symbolic interpretation necessarily means that while the dancer and choreographer might have something specific in mind, this can never be conveyed to the audience. Instead, every viewer and performer will have their own idea of how the dance works and what, if anything, it is supposed to mean. This is also very in line with...

The idea that meaning is purely a construct of the relationship between text and reader -- or performer and audience -- is an incredibly modern concept, and Trio A is one of the prime examples of this concept that comes from the world of dance. Because both the meaning of the piece and its performance modes and methods are so open to interpretation, the piece continues to be changes and adapted today, although with varying degrees of success (Rainer 2004).
It is difficult to think of any other works that operate in quite the same way as Trio A. It could be argued, and has been by many theorists, that all texts operate on the same level of meaning coming through relationships. In this way, Trio A works on the same level as all other works of art, simply more explicitly. This makes it an interesting "in" to understanding our modern worlds and aesthetic sense.

References

MIT Press. "Review: Yvonne Rainer: The Mind is a Muscle." Accessed 15 April 2009. http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11290

Rainer, Y. "Trio A." Accessed 15 April 2009. http://www.vdb.org/smackn.acgi$tapedetail-TRIOA

Rainer, Y. A woman who-- New York: John Hopkins University Press, 1999.

Richar, H. "Yvonne Rainer Biography." Accessed 15 April 2009. http://people.wcsu.edu/mccarneyh/fva/R/YRainer_bio.html