SummerWorks
iPhoto caption: The company of 'Phalanax.' SummerWorks photo by Jae Yang.
The specter of death is omnipresent in Phalanx, one of the offerings at this August's SummerWorks Performance Festival. First presented by DNA Theatre in 1998, the current version was catalyzed in 2023, perhaps fittingly, by the passing of former artistic director Hillar Liitoja. I decided to document the creative process and to provide space for the artists involved to reflect on why they were doing the show and what they hoped to achieve.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Robert Torres.
REVIEW: Two hybrid dance pieces close out this year’s SummerWorks Performance Festival
During the festival’s closing weekend, I saw two works that live side by side in my memory even as they differed in style and intention. Both Je ne vais pas inonder la mer (I Will Not Flood the Ocean) and Graveyards and Gardens explored memory, loss, and the body’s way of carrying history — one did so with devastating intimacy, the other with cerebral play.
iPhoto caption: Photo of 'the body symphonic' by Giuseppe Follachio.
Three genre-blurring SummerWorks productions meditate on memory and loss
During this August's iteration of the curated SummerWorks Performance Festival, three productions rethink the line between dance piece and concert.
iPhoto caption: The cast of Fat Fables. Photo by Roya DelSol.
SummerWorks Performance Festival announces 2025 lineup
Taking place from August 7 to 17, the 2025 festival features more than 35 projects and over 200 artists.