June 30, 2012 – Immanence Immersive Dance Performance

I’m delighted to announce that my Immanence dance project premiered at the National Museum of Dance during the Saratoga ArtsFest, on June 9 and 10. This conceptual piece combines modern dance and movement with contemporary Tahitian dance, with a focus on the creation myths from the Atea cycles — the emergence of Space at the beginning of Time. The work was narrated by my Second Life avatar Ragitake Takakura, from the virtual world Second Life. Ragitake read poetry and ancient Tahitian myths –  projected to the ceiling from a 3D cosmos in a black box space as the audience sat in a circle. All of the choreography was created to fit a circular space representing the creation circle of life and the New Zealand Maori Koru concept (an unfurled fern frond representing new life).

Ragitake Takakura narrating Immanence stories

Ragitake Takakura narrating Immanence stories

The Immanence Dancers are students from the National Museum of Dance School of the Arts. My sister Kareva Mateata Allain made a special guest appearance for the premiere.

I was honored to have some wonderful storytellers, artists and colleagues in the audience. I’ll write more about the experience of creating and performing Immanence sometime soon. For now, back to work on course development and advising students.

Here is an image of the poster for the event:

Immanence Poster. Design by Tess Martinez.

Immanence Poster. Design by Tess Martinez.