Title: From Afar
I. All at One Point
Music: Solar Wind Sonification, by Robert Alexander. Text: excerpts from “All at One Point” from Cosmicomics, by Italo Calvino, translated from the Italian by William Weaver, 1968, Harcourt.
II. The Loneliest Star
Music: Excerpt from Liquid Architecture, by David Biedenbender. Text: excerpts from The Universe’s most massive stars form in near isolation, new study finds by Nicole Casal Moore, December 20, 2010, University of Michigan News Service.
III. A Sign in Space
Music: Excerpt from Music from the Sun, by Robert Alexander. Text: Excerpts from “A Sign in Space” from Cosmicomics, by Italo Calvino
Premiere: June 8 & 9, 2013. Presented by Ann Arbor Dance Works at the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History as part of an evening of dances inspired by scientific research entitled “Within/Beyond.”
Duration: 15 min.
Sound Design: Digital collage arranged by Jessica Fogel. Voiceover: Annette Masson
Dancers: Kaliana Basoukeas, Kula Batangan, Lynsey Colden, Ashley Manci, Maddy Rager
Costumes: Rebecca Baygents-Turk
Props: Kasia Mrozewska
Program acknowledgments: Special thanks to Sally Oey, Associate Professor of Astronomy at UM and UM post-doctoral fellow Joel Lamb, for sharing their inspiring research; to Matt Linke of the UM Museum of Natural History for his generous assistance throughout our production; to Amy Harris, Director of the UM Museum of Natural History and to the museum docents and staff for sharing their beautiful museum space with us; to Robert Alexander and David Biedenbender for graciously providing their wonderful music; to Kasia Mrozewska for her imaginative props; and to the superb cast of dancers for their beautiful dancing and generosity.
Description: A dance in three sections, From Afar is inspired by the research of University of Michigan astronomers Sally Oey and Joel Lamb, whose focus is the role of massive stars in the evolution of galaxies. The dance also draws inspiration from Italo Calvino’s elegant absurdist short stories from Cosmicomics.
Choreographic notes
Video
Below: rehearsal photos of From Afar by Kirk Donaldson
