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Performed in NYC at Judson Memorial Church, October 27th and 28th, 2023
BODY / SHADOW is an experimental opera with music by Paul J. Botelho; images, set design, and text by Brice Brown; choreography by Douglas Dunn; and visual media design by Steve Gibson.
This work calls into question the coherence of the human body, highlighting its vulnerability and doubleness. What is more real: a body, or a shadow?
Presented in the round, BODY / SHADOW features 17 dancers performing a series of non-linear, one-minute acts. As they move throughout the space, they activate sections of a five-channel video that are projected on stretched “skins” of dancer-handled screens. Botelho circulates throughout the space among the dancers, performing vocal improvisations to his set score. He carries with him a large sack that contains objects and small sculptures; this sack doubles as a second body, or shadow, and Botelho interacts with it in a series of movements given as a list of instructions. A large ring of cast sculptures in the form of hands provides a physical and visual separation between viewer and performance.
All images from performance at Judson Memorial Church, NYC, 2023. Photography courtesy Douglas Dunn + Dancers and Steve Gibson.