Stefano Altamura‘s photos of the Whim W’Him dancers are so beautiful that I am always sorry more of them don’t get out where more people can see them. So today’s post is going devoted to his dress rehearsal photographs taken just before opening night. The words for each piece are those of the choreographers.
“I’ve always wanted to involve a piece of furniture. Don’t know where the idea came from… Inspired by spaces involving social interactions, this piece explores adjustments made in these relationships to maintain functionality in life. The music and style of movement reflect elements of the African aesthetic and jazz and Latin influences.” Jakevis Thomason on Convenient Arrangements
“This piece is a reflection on how I sometimes take life for granted. How I dwell in the past and memory. How I dwell in fear, the fear of death and uncertainty about what comes after. How I sometimes block myself off from the world. How these last couple of years have given us, in a way, a second chance. To really consider our place and purpose in this world. I don’t know that I have the answer, but I want to believe that it is to continue to grow, to learn about ourselves and each other through love, empathy and human connection. Under the exteriors we have built up to protect ourselves, I believe love lives there. This work represents that sacred energy we share, the need to give and receive love, under all of the walls we, our history, society has built up to block us from that.” Mark Caserta on UNDERLOVE
“The piece definitely has underlying themes, but it isn’t a linear narrative—more like movement concepts based on real life experiences, gestures and postures that connect to ideas I wanted to work with, like the absence or presence of hope and also the idea of lost versus found and how those juxtapositions can be physicalized…. The soul or the essence of the piece came from a 5-minute piece of music by Hania Rani, a Polish composer, and my friend Ben Waters, who built the world around that piece.” Ethan Colangelo on a vanishing thread
