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Down to a science - Capacitor brings a body of principles to dance.
March 5 2003
Chloe Veltman
IN RECENT MONTHS a bunch of geophysicists and geologists have taken to hanging
around a dance studio. Brandishing books with titles like Seismic Data Processing
and Earth: Portrait of a Planet, the scientists have been sharing their enthusiasm
for studying the micromovements of tectonic plates with an eager crowd of
ballerinas, modern dancers, capoeristas, jugglers, and aerialists.
Ever since the Bay Area-based multidisciplinary performance group Capacitor
began work on Within Outer Spaces, a show about the relationship between humans
and the universe, scientists and technologists have been welcomed into the
creative process. Choreographer and dancer Jodi Lomask and juggler Zack Bernstein
founded the company in 1997, with a mandate to create work exploring the impact
of science and technology on daily life. When Lomask, Capacitor's artistic
director, decided she wanted to create a show about outer space a few years
ago, she contacted some local astronomers and invited them over to the company's
studio for a conversation.
Thanks to that initial meeting, the Capacitor Lab came into being. Conceived
as a forum for artists and scientists to exchange ideas, the labs have been
a formal part of the development of every Capacitor show since. "Generally,
dancers have a limited knowledge about science and technology," says
Lomask, 28, whose training includes the Merce Cunningham Studio, the London
Contemporary Dance School, and the Rotterdam Dansacademie. "We don't
want to create the same show over and over again. So the Lab gives us fresh
perspectives."
Avatars improbably melds motion-capture technology, aerial acrobatics, martial
arts, fire juggling, classical ballet, modern dance, a throbbing industrial
score, and a wardrobe of kinky leather-and-red-satin outfits. The result is
a captivating spectacle about humans' ability to transcend themselves through
fantasy. (continued...)
