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Dance Umbrella Presents - Catalyst- Heat & Light] Special Post-Show Events Friday,
January 26 Saturday,
January 27
"fresh
and fierce, evocative and disciplined” - Dance Magazine“punk
rock-cum minimalist” - City Pages
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Created and directed by Emily Johnson (Artistic Director, Catalyst),
Heat and Life depicts a frenetic world fueled by anxiety, paranoia
and fear - a world Catalyst uses to explore connections between
global warming, overpopulation, degradation of natural & urban
environments, insatiable greed and how we contribute and respond
to these human-made disasters. Negotiating rough terrain, each other,
and the edginess of having nothing to lose, seven dancers aim to
thrive in an ever-changing landscape. Using walkie-talkies, electrical
cords, 80 pounds of sod, industrial flashlights, gas masks, helmets,
and a bicycle to adapt, the lines are blurred: Are they emergency
workers or disaster survivors? Friends or foes? In this brutal world,
it’s hard to pause to take a deep, clean breath. Multi-instrumentalist
composer JG Everest performs his original score live on stage, a
hybrid of electronic, acoustic, and site-specific found sounds.
Randy Kramer’s stark video design enhances the sense of loss
and disorientation with “grass so green it makes your eyes
hurt” and Heidi Eckwall’s scrappy guerilla lighting
sets mobile boundaries through which the dance unfolds. 