“unusually beautiful vision”
—DANCE TABS
ICE CYCLE (2016)
6 Dancers, 30 minutes
Ice Cycle was inspired by Jody Sperling’s experience dancing on Arctic sea ice while on a creative residency with a polar science expedition. The project initiated the choreographer’s ongoing collaboration with composer Matthew Burtner, who uses climate-change materials and data in his compositions, especially drawing on the sounds of ice and snow. Ice Cycle transports the icescape to the stage while expressing its fragility and dynamism. The music and the dance work together to distill the crystalline rhythms of ice and echo its intimate interplay with water.
CHOREOGRAPHY: Jody Sperling
MUSIC: Matthew Burtner
COSTUMES: Mary Jo Mecca
LIGHTING: David Ferri
“Ice Cycle is an unusually beautiful vision suggesting, at times, the effects of global warming, encompassing Sperling’s environmental concerns as well as her choreographic and design mastery.”
–Susanna Sloat, Dance Tabs
“delivering a visual effect that rivals the striking grace of Georgia O’Keefe’s giant flower portraits. ”
–Karen Hildebrand, Fjord Review