Premiering at the Harris Theater in Chicago on November 6, 2015 Commissioned by the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Steven Holl Architects and Jessica Lang are proud to present the world premiere of Tesseracts of Time; a brand new work commissioned by the Chicago Architecture Biennial, premiering at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago on Friday, November 6.
Both Architecture and dance share a passion for space and light in time, however they are on opposite ends of the spectrum with respect to time. Architecture is one of the arts of longest duration, while the realization of a dance piece can be a quick process and the work disappears as the performance of it unfolds. Corresponding to the four seasons, but within a twenty minute period, the collaboration between choreographer Jessica Lang and Steven Holl merges dance and architecture in a compression of time and space.
“The body moving through space in time is a central experience of both architecture and dance,” said Steven Holl. “To collaborate on a ‘Dance for Architecture’ with Jessica Lang is an inspiring chance to experiment with the merging of the two arts, focusing on time, form, light, and movement.” “Collaboration is an essential part of making great art,” said Jessica Lang.
The four sections of the dance correspond to four types of architecture: Under the ground, In the ground, On the ground, and Over the ground. In this work, one can imagine the four stages like the four seasons, which are compressed into just twenty minutes. With 525,600 minutes in one year, this compressed ratio would render an average human life as four years. Like Seasons, the ending returns to the darkness of ‘UNDER’ at the beginning. No beginning, no ending.
The architecture used in the dance was developed through a research project called ‘Explorations of IN.’ This project started June 2014 at Steven Holl Architects and explores questions of architectural language. It aims to re-value the Art of Architecture.
Lang and Holl carefully chose music that has influenced them both in their individual work, and for its architectonic qualities, studied at Columbia University’s design program The Architectonics of Music, led by Steven Holl and Dimitra Tsachrelia. This “dance for architecture” is set to music by David Lang, Morton Feldman, John Cage, Iannis Xenakis and Arvo Pärt.
This project was made possible with support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Charles & Deborah Adelman, and the Dau Family Foundation. Special thank you to Sarah Herda, Michael Tiknis, Jay Franke and Margaret Selby. Source by Steven Holl Architects and Original Copy.
Location: Chicago, USA
Concept: Steven Holl in collaboration with Jessica Lang
Design Director: Dimitra Tsachrelia
Directed and Choreographed: Jessica Lang
Architectural Design Direction: Dimitra Tsachrelia
Music: David Lang, Morton Feldman, John Cage, Iannis Xenakis and Arvo Pärt
Lighting Design: Nicole Pearce
Costume Design: Bradon McDonald
Filming and editing: Ruoyu Wei
Film Consultant: Milan Misko
Stage set Construction: Paper Mâché Monkey
‘Explorations of IN’ project team: Ruoyu Wei, Yuliya Savelyeva
Dancers: Clifton Brown, Randy Castillo, Julie Fiorenza, John Harnage, Eve Jacobs, Kana Kimura, Laura Mead, Milan Misko, Jammie Walker
Lead Commissioner: Chicago Architecture Biennial
Co-commissioned by: architecture dance music lighting design costume design stage and set construction The Chicago Architectural Biennial, John and Caroline Balantine, Sandra and Jack Guthman, Michael and Sharon Tiknis though the Imagine Campaign, The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, The Society for the Performing Arts, The Joyce Theater Foundation Tesseracts of Time
Commissioning Partners: John and Caroline Ballantine, Sandra and Jack Guthman, Michael and Sharon Tiknis through the Imagine campaign, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Society for the Performing Arts, and The Joyce Theater Foundation
Year: 2015
Images: Courtesy of Steven Holl Architects