Visible Structures

THOUGHTS FROM THE PRESS

Jonathan Stein, thINKingDANCE, “We are left stimulated, provoked, and yet numbed by an experience that suggests we live within a swirl of power disparities where hard-wired aggressiveness asserts itself through social conventions of play and war. Does the hero’s journey, however edifying to our psyches, simply embody this human condition? Time to bring in the anti-heroes.”
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Olivia Wood, The Dance Journal, “For a few moments, only feet were visible. They appeared to be floating as the dancers kicked and stepped, accompanied by calm, instrumental music, while performing similar phrases and following similar spatial patterns. Then, there appeared two crossing channels of light on the floor and the rest of the performers, wearing shirts with blue flowers on the back, began to slide between them, slipping gracefully in their stockinged feet.”
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Visible Structures, a dance trilogy, examines the age-old story of the hero’s journey as a historical construction and pop-culture phenomenon.  Drawing from research into heroic and emergent leader narrative films (like “Ender’s Game” and “The Matrix”), personal experiences, and Joseph Campbell’s book “Hero with a Thousand Faces”, the work presents the status quo of the story and deconstructs the conceptual frameworks within it.  

Dynamic momentum-based phrasing propels dancers through narrative structures, power struggles, and oppressive systems.  Shifting between choreographically predetermined outcomes and actual free-for-all competition, dancers struggle with each other and vie for attention from the audience.  

Katherine Kiefer Stark's choreography is complemented with unique lighting and environmental design along with a sound score of movie soundtracks and original music composed by Andy Thierauf.

Featuring eight dancers and three unique Episodes, Visible Structures takes the audience on a journey and begs the question: Is this the story we want to keep telling?

LIFE OF THE WORK

2018 Visible Structures, a dance trilogy at Mascher Space performed by Brionna Williams, Chloe Marie Newton, Harlee Trautman, Leanne Grieger, Marisa Illingworth, Melissa Chisena, Peaches Jones, & Sean Thomas Boyt 

2018 Power Suite (Episode III) preview excerpt in Scratch Night performed by Chloe Marie Newton, Harlee Trautman, Marisa Illingworth, & Sean Thomas Boyt

2017 Encounters & Choices (Episode I) in A Series of Informal Events performed by Beau Hancock, Brionna Williams, Chloe Marie Newton, Harlee Trautman, Leanne Grieger, Marisa Illingworth, Melissa Chisena, Peaches Jones, & Sean Thomas Boyt 

2017 Power Suite in 664 Miles at Links Hall in Chicago and McClure Elementary School performed by Harlee Trautman, Leanne Grieger, Marisa Illingworth, & Sean Thomas Boyt

2017 Power Suite in A Series of Informal Events performed by Katherine Kiefer Stark, Marisa Illingworth, Meredith Stapleton, & Sean Thomas Boyt

2017 Encounters and Choices March & April Workshops & Showings featuring Antonia Z Brown, Amelia Walters, Celine McBride, Leanne Grieger, Margot Steinberg, Marisa Illingworth, Meredith Stapleton, & Sean Thomas Boyt 

2016 The One, The Other One, & The Many (Episode II) in FringeArts Festival performed by Jennifer Yackel, Jenny Sawyer, Jodi Obeid, Leanne Grieger, Loren Groenendaal, Mira Treatman, Megan Wilson, Meredith Stapleton, Patrica Dominguez, & Sean Thomas Boyt

2016 Concept Investigation March Workshop & Showing featuring Chris Deephouse, Christine Morano, Grace Stern, Harlee Trautman, Jenna Bryant, Jennifer Yackel, Jenny Sawyer, Jodi Obeid, Kat Sullivan, Leanne Grieger, Loren Groenendaal, Mariadela Belle Alvarez, Megan Wilson, Meredith Stapleton, Mira Treatman, Patrica Dominguez, Peaches Jones, Sarah Galdwin-Camp, Sean Thomas Boyt, Susannah Hubb

2016 Encounters in the Bryn Mawr Faculty Concert and Nice & Fresh Series performed by Leanne Grieger & Sean Thomas Boyt

2015 Concept investigation, June Showing featuring Leanne Grieger, Katherine Kiefer Stark, Megan Wilson, Meredith Stapleton, & Sean Thomas Boyt