“hypnotic”
—World Policy Institute
Wind Rose (2019)
6 Dancers, 21 minutes
A study of the relationship between breath and atmosphere. A wind rose is a meteorological tool that graphically represents wind speed and direction. In this work, the six performers echo global wind patterns that are changing drastically along with the earth’s climate. Wind Rose deepens the climate engaged collaboration between choreographer Jody Sperling and composer Matthew Burtner. Dancers deploy expansive costuming, in the style of Loie Fuller and designed by Mary Jo Mecca, that visually suggests cloud formations while physically drafting swelling gusts that the audience can feel. The work is grounded in parallel practices of ecoacoustics (music) and ecokinetics (dance), pioneered by Burtner and Sperling respectively, that relate human-generated sounds and movement to ecological systems.
Choreography: Jody Sperling
Music: Matthew Burtner
Costumes: Mary Jo Mecca | Lighting: David Ferri
EXCERPT
“engages the viewer’s senses of sight, hearing, and touch to draw you deeply into the moment. Indeed, the extent of its power can be hypnotic.”
–Erica Digman, World Policy Institute
ABOUT
“a stunning, spinning white cloud that both moves and is moved by wind”
–Karen Hildebrand, Fjord Review
FULL PERFORMANCE