in the wake of a sleeping machine
ensemble work, in creation to become a full-length
Choreography: Shion Skye Carter, in collaboration with the dancers
Performers: Kayla De Vos, Juolin Lee, danielle Mackenzie Long, Natalia Martineau, Myah McCarthy, Quinn Muylaert, Tamar Tabori, Kaya Tsurumi, Shana Wolfe
Dramaturg: Erika Mitsuhashi
Lighting design: Hina Nishioka
Photography: Lula-Belle Jedynak
Videography: Darryl Ahye
“The image begins with a rhythmic ensemble, a conjoined globular form; each body a cog in a machine, unaware of their dependence on one another. They've moved this way for years; the light is just now illuminating this static machine. One cog breaks out, shattering the cluster. In its ruin, each piece gains sentience.”
in the wake of a sleeping machine researches how objects and lighting design architect, refract, and transform space while movement patterns and tableaus are generated by a collective of bodies in relationship with one another. Through interaction with lighting and soft movable sculptures, the work investigates building community. Via unison movement, solos and weight-yielding partner work, the dancers form an organic human-powered machine; audiences have agency to move through the performance area, contributing to the exploration of how communities activate co-operative care. Expressing the vitality of community connection that challenges the Western, consumption-driven, individualist system we are embedded in, in the wake of a sleeping machine takes an abstract approach to explore how a community can work together to respond to change, adapt, and continue moving forward.
This project has been supported by plastic orchid factory, SFU School for the Contemporary Arts, Canada Council for the Arts, and BC Arts Council.
