BIOME (2007)
A corporal, visual and audio exploration of desire and yearning in the forest canopy.
About biome
The Impetus
Through the ‘biome’ project, we explored the cooperation and communication which occurs between different species in nature. Our show gives audiences a corporal, visual, and audio experience of the great interconnected web within the forest.
The Process and Creative Team
To achieve this, we focused specifically on the cloud forest of Costa Rica where we engaged in a creative retreat in 2006. The dancers and choreographer met regularly with local canopy tree biologists and ecologists who are studying the canopy and the wildlife that interacts there. We used critical scientific information as a portal through which to connect more deeply with the spirit and poetry of the forest. Our show encourages a sense of preciousness and mystery around wild spaces in nature – and potentially a resounding commitment to preservation.
Artistic Director Jodi Lomask worked with Lead Scientific Adviser and Ecologist Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, Costume Designer Kimie Sako, Filmmaker Amy Harrison, Sound Editor Roberto Salvatore, Sound Director Michael Zbyszynski, Video Artist Nate Pagel, Cameraman Daniel Zox, and the Capacitor performers, Cari Delaplane, Oscar Trujillo, Jocelyn Rudig, Nathan Brumbaugh, and Zack Bernstein.
The Experience
Capacitor created a performance which included a modular set that becomes a cutaway of the forest floor, a stand of trees, and the stems of tender new growth. The performers transform from leaf-cutter ants to families of monkeys, from leaves to droplets of water, and insects to tangling vines. The performers live out a fantasy that many audience members wished they could.
Educational Program
biome is often introduced by lead scientific adviser Dr Nalini Nadkarni with a 20 minute talk about the forest canopy.