Event

Dark Room Trio

April 8 to 23, 2011
Free, reservations required
Friday evening and Saturday afternoon performances, with school groups by reservation on Thursdays

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ALL PERFORMANCE TIMES ARE FULL. Seating is very limited for each viewing but there may be one or two seats available for standby seating if unclaimed.

Friday April 8, 15, 22
(5:15 PM, 6:00 PM, 6:45 PM, 7:30 PM)

Saturday April 16, 23
(3:30 PM, 4:15PM, 6:00PM, 6:45PM)

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Crispin Spaeth returns to Western Bridge to re-imagine her 2006 dance work Dark Room as part of our spring exhibition Light in Darkness. This work for three dancers is presented in a space lit only in the infrared spectrum. The dancers perform sightlessly, seeking each other in the space with violent or searching gestures, then meeting for clinches or embraces. A small audience views the performance through night-vision scopes. Using this military technology, the audience is privileged with a view of the proceedings kept from the dancers, who are guided by hearing, touch, and memory.

The viewer must scan the performance space through the narrow field of vision of the scopes, finding the dancers as they move through the space, choosing which performer to focus on. The scope technology suggests various aggressive or illicit uses, themes that play out through the performance.

Western Bridge's current exhibition Light in Darkness looks at light as a medium and subject in art. In darkened galleries, the only light is provided by the works themselves. All galleries are open before the performances.

The performance lasts 20 minutes and requires reservations. Please plan to arrive 20 minutes prior to your reserved time for orientation to the night vision gear.

Dark Room was originally commissioned by Western Bridge in 2006. The lighting design is by Jon Harmon, and the score is composed by Yann Novak. Dark Room Trio will be performed by Annie Hewlett, Elia Mrak, and Kathryn Padberg.