A free performance in Farmington on Oct. 24 will bring dancers, musicians, visual artists and community members together in a work shaped partly by art made at public workshops.
Choreographer Sarah Andreacchi's Deer Heart: A Ritual of Listening is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Cobblestone Arts Center, 1622 State Route 332. In a release sent to FingerLakes1.com, Andreacchi described the production as an immersive mix of contemporary dance, improvisation, original music, Tai Chi, sculpture and ritual.
Workshops become part of the performance
The project developed through public open studios, movement research sessions and community Spirit Animal sculpture workshops, rather than only in private rehearsals. Participants made animals with personal meaning to them, and those sculptures are planned as part of the performance's visual setting.
Andreacchi said the recurring image of a White Deer serves as a messenger and a prompt to pay attention. She said the work explores listening through movement, touch, relationships and encounters with nature, with contributions from people who entered the project through music, making objects and sharing stories.
Movement research has included improvisation, somatic practices and partnering, along with the physical and symbolic lives of deer. The release describes influences ranging from relationships between mothers and young deer to the force and movement associated with the rut. The performance is intended to invite audiences into its environment rather than have them simply watch from outside it.
Tai Chi practitioner Kathy Gill, composer and musician Annika Bentley and visual artist Kim Bellavia are collaborating with Andreacchi, dancers and improvisers. Andreacchi said Gill shared Tai Chi forms, Bentley researched deer species, sounds and environments for the original music, and Bellavia's visual work helped shape the production's connection between people and nature.
Admission and related event
Admission to Deer Heart is free, and organizers encourage RSVPs. The Oct. 24 presentation marks the culmination of months of artistic and community research, according to the release.
Cobblestone Arts Center plans to hold a separate Silent Disco after the performance to benefit the Cobblestone Community Players. Tickets for that event are available through the arts center's website; the release does not give a ticket price or say the Silent Disco is included in the free performance.
The production received funding through the Statewide Community Regrants Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, supported by the governor's office and state Legislature and administered by Auburn Public Theater.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.