DANCING CLIMATE CHANGE: Merging Ballet, Science, and Film in MOVEIUS Contemporary Ballet’s “GLACIER” at the 2016 Capital Fringe Festival
This groundbreaking, multimedia production puts an immersive, arctic environment onstage—and audiences watch as it quickly melts away. The bold ballet-based choreography and arctic footage allows audiences to see and feel climate change in a deeply personal way.
Yes, there’s even a polar bear. And at 45 minutes running time, the show will pack a punch for those on a tight Fringe-going schedule.
The work follows a frozen world undergoing climate change. The dancers ripple, crack, and plunge, embodying the science behind the warming icecaps. For each section of the ballet, Choreographer Diana Movius took inspiration from different types of polar ice such as ice sheets, sea ice, meltwater, and icebergs. Malleable set pieces, carefully designed costumes, and unusual use of liquid props complement the science-inspired choreography, set to a custom video projection by acclaimed local filmmaker Robin Bell and a riveting score by Max Richter.
MOVEIUS’ productions have been a popular highlight of past Capital Fringe seasons, frequently selling out shows and winning the Audience Award in 2012. You may remember previous Fringe productions about the Steampunk aesthetic and Johnny Cash. Yet, this is the company’s largest, most daring show to date, with a distinct multimedia element.
In addition to the dancing, Robin Bell’s video projections are a thought-provoking highlight. Each show is different, as Bell works in real-time to skillfully mix live-footage from the dancers onstage into his video backdrop of scenes from the Arctic.
The ballet was performed in 2015 at The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage to a crowd of almost 400 people, and at the Atlas Performing Arts Center to around 300 people. Many audience members noticed tears forming in their eyes during the final sections of the work.
“We hope audiences can really see and feel climate change in a new way” choreographer Diana Movius said. “We want watching GLACIER to be a meaningful experience.”
The program is also a melding of Movius’ own worlds, as it brings together her professional expertise in both climate change policy and dance. A climate change policy expert with a distinguished career, Movius has worked for the World Bank, the United Nations, the Center for Clean Air Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists, and others.
“I believe DC’s policy community will be encouraged to see the role that art can play in raising awareness about climate change,” she said.
GLACIER: A CLIMATE CHANGE BALLET
PERFORMING AT:
Atlas Performing Arts Center, Lang Theater -1333 H Street NE, Washington, DC 20011
PERFORMANCE TIMES:
Thursday, July 7th at 8:45 PM
Saturday, July 9th at 6:45 PM
Sunday, July 10th at 7:15 PM
Tuesday, July 12th at 9:00 PM
Saturday, July 16th at 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 17th, 5:30 PM
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE, OR CALL 866-811-4111.
Official Hashtags
@moveius #Glacier #climateballet #capfringe16 #CapFringeSoldOut
About The Artist or Company
MOVEIUS Contemporary Ballet was founded in 2010 to catalyze innovative, accessible, and thoughtful contemporary bullet in the metro DC area. In 2012, MOVEIUS won the Capital Fringe Audience Award for Dance/Physical Theater and has produced a number of successful Fringe performances.
Since 2010, MOVEIUS has performed in a variety of venues in Maryland, DC, Virginia, and North Carolina, including Dance Place, Atlas Performing Arts Center, Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, the GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in DC, and the Booth Playhouse in Charlotte, North Carolina. MOVEIUS has received critical acclaim and enthusiastic press coverage from Washington Post, Huffington Post, DCMetro TheaterArts, Charlotte Observer, and others.
LINK:
Read other previews on DCMetroTheaterArts.
