Choreographer Leslie Scott’s Hybrid Dance Performance BIRDSEYE at CalArts

From Thursday through Saturday (April 23-25), the New York and Los Angeles-based contemporary dance company BODYART founder and artistic director Leslie Scott (Dance MFA 16) presents BIRDSEYE in the Graduation Courtyard at CalArts.

Part sculpture, part dance performance and part film, BIRDSEYE is set in a freestanding structure with fabric walls and a 20-foot communal table at the center, where the audience may sit through the 30-minute performance. Elements of the surrounding architecture and landscape are heavily incorporated into the work through cutouts, windows and projections. Elizabeth Smith (Theater MFA 17) designed the structure, which provides a performance space that is viewable from the inside and out.

Performing the piece are dancers Kyreeana Alexander (Dance BFA 16), Cynthia Anderson (Dance BFA 16), Mahina Moon (Dance BFA 16), Hee Eun Jeong (Dance 15) and Darby Kelly (Dance BFA 16). The lighting and sound were designed by Alexander Freer (Theater MFA 17), Darius Gangei (Theater BFA 15) with additional sound design by Paul Rosero (Art MFA 15), and video projections by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh (Theater MFA 15).

The full sensory performance is meant as a portable isolation tank, an activity that “lives outside our constant daily distractions.” Audience members are encouraged to see BIRDSEYE from different vantage points.

Above: A promotional video for BIRDSEYE.