"Taken as a whole, the experience of being an audience member of Cacophony for 8 Players was like being the reader of a poem. On a first read, the language sounds melodious, the rhythms pretty. But the more the reader engages with it, the more satisfying it becomes. Its internal network of connections become clearer, and, at the same time, it opens itself up to the world outside the poem—or, in this case, the performance. Here, the textual voices (Bharata Muni, etc.) helped open the work up to history and philosophy as recorded by the written word."
- Anna Waller, Seattle Dances, 2014
A dance, sound and visual performance collaboration between director Torben Ulrich, musician Angelina Baldoz and dancer Beth Graczyk premiered at the historic Washington Hall, January 2014.
Through the meshing of dance, music, video, sculpture and textural audio, Cacophony for 8 Players explores the porous interplay of performative history. Applying key texts by eight prominent figures — Bharatamuni, Abhinavagupta, August Bournonville, Vaslav Nijinsky, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Maya Deren and Pina Bausch — the work seeks to honor ideas in history, in a meeting open to both confluence and rebellion.
Collaborators include visual artists Steven Berardelli and Micki Skudlarczyk, lighting designer Amiya Brown, costume designer by Mark Ferrin, scenic designer Corrie Befort and video work by Clyde Petersen.
The presentation of the evening-length premiere was in part supported by a Group Projects grant from 4 Culture, On The Boards Northwest New Works Festival, Conduit Dance + Festival, artist-in-residence awards from Performance Works Northwest and Open Flight Studio, donors through Seattle Foundation’s GIVE BIG, and 76 other individual donors. The project is supported through partnerships with Velocity Dance Center and Gamelan Pacifica.
For more info: Cacophonyfor8Players.com
Video excerpts from Washington Hall premiere. Film by Andreas Johnsen.
Image design: Corrie Befort