Heidi Duckler Dance Presents ILLUMINATING THE CHANDELIER Livestreamed Premiere April 30

Los Angeles-based dance company, Heidi Duckler Dance (HDD) presents Illuminating the Chandelier through Zoom video streaming on April 30th at 5PM PST.

The streamed work is a precursor to and shortened version of HDD's live performance titled The Chandelier, originally slated to be premiered at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts spring 2020, but postponed due to the pandemic. Adapted to

address social distancing circumstances during the dire Covid-19 situation, Illuminating The Chandelier explores a new language of intimacy as people rely on technology to connect to the arts and each other. Using innovative ways to piece together fragmented movement phrases executed by the Duckler dancers in their own homes into one cohesive performance, it features dancers, musicians, composers and designers working collaboratively from afar to create a fully immersive show that audiences around the world can enjoy via streaming.

Illuminating the Chandelier is an original digital site-specific performance choreographed by Heidi Duckler with music by trumpet and electronic specialist Sarah Belle Reid and cellist Isaac Takeuchi. Illuminating the Chandelier features HDD company performers Himerria Wortham, Rafael Quintas, Myles Lavallee, Nicole Flores, Maureen Asic, Magdalena Edwards, Jessica Emmanuel, Jaeme Velez, David Guerra, and Paula Rebelo. Set design by Carlo Maghirang, video design by Kamyi Lee, and costume design by Snezana Petrovic.

Both Illuminating the Chandelier and The Chandelier are based on the novel The Chandelier by Brazilian author Clarice Lispector, which was hailed by The New York Times for its "undeniable quantity of genius (and) heart-stopping payoff." The tragic coming-of-age story told from a young girl's perspective was recently translated into English from Portuguese.

"While following a similar narrative as the longer live dance piece, Illuminating The Chandelier focuses specifically on the interior monologue of a woman in isolation who experiences dissociated, dreamlike feelings and has trouble connecting to the world around her," states Artistic Director Heidi Duckler. "Through layers of imagery and acts of repetition, the work explores the contrasting ideas of impermanence and the irrevocable, especially in the context of what we as a society are all going through in this moment."

The Wallis' Artistic Director Paul Crewes says, "Heidi Duckler Dance's powerful and thought-provoking piece Illuminating The Chandelier addresses very real issues brought on by the pandemic while magnifying the company's legacy of doing site-specific work as it takes audiences into the homes of its dancers. It also illustrates the company's nimbleness and keen ability to react to cultural shifts, quickly pivoting and adapting its work and creative process to produce performances that unite diverse communities in unexpected ways."

Tickets: Free with RSVP, $15 suggested donation

RSVP at: illuminatingthechandelier.eventbrite.com

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