The lighting “breathing with” the dancers

One part of the challenge was making sure that the specificity of my design did not bleed into the rep plot. I had systems that covered all of the dances’ unique spacings and was completely usable for the other designers. We agreed on gel colors and where our inventory was being used, adding another aspect of collaboration and communication to skills I needed to utilize/work on for this assignment

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In the early process, the first concept we dealt with was the phenomenon of an entire society to busy to see each other, locked into their own world’s of "next tasks” and business.

My goal was to use space and vastness to communicate the loneliness of existing this way, and contrast it with a tightness and isolation that dramatically emphasizes the difference when the dancers do connect. My research consisted mostly of paintings of people in wide landscapes until I found Rosseau’s photo essay: Riding the Tube, which informed me that I wanted to work with really neutral colors and focus on the haziness of the mindset — like an early morning tube ride.

After attending rehearsals, I picked up on more (of course) and realized that the emphasis Amy was putting on the breath in order to guide the dance was helpful for me too. I wanted the lighting to interact with the dancers by creating emotive worlds for them, but now I wanted the lighting to be led by their breath, their connection to each other and to the audience. I wanted the lighting to breathe with them. So now I tack on another layer, using intensity to breathe with the dancers.

Riding the Tube - Stephen Rosseau