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By Samantha Lim
Brooklyn Daily
These dancers are light on their feet.
“Becoming-Corpus” is a combination of video and movement coming to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where performers must react to images projected all over the stage, blanketing the people — seemingly challenging them to adjust to the light patterns.
“The optical effects produce a space that can be static or kinetic,” said choreographer Ximena Garnica. “One usually dances in a still setting, but when the space moves, your rhythm too, has to change or you’ll topple.”
During the rehearsals, conducted in a Williamsburg studio dubbed “Cave,” one can hear Garnica shout, “Interact with the space and each other,” as dancers morph fluidly like latex figures. With under a month until the premier of the show, the practice sessions are conducted with absolute diligence.
The production is the work of a partnership between two different disciplines. The Columbian-born Garnica’s choreography is joined by Japanese-born Shige Moriya video programming.
“I use video as a lighting source,” said Moriya. “Most of the abstract images are derived from nature trips such as during camping.”
The two artistic directors of the show form Leimay, an arts organization that not only produce their works but run diverse programs year-round. Their bulletin includes artist residencies, training programs, an online network, and summer festivals. Moriya and Garnica track the arts organization’s beginnings to sometime in 1996. Most of their work explores the interconnectivity of dance, sound, video, and visual art.
Along with the show, visual art by Garnica and Moriya will be exhibited at the performance space. The artworks act as historical documentation of earlier and discarded creative processes leading to the “Becoming-Corpus,” which marks LEIMAY’s first time performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
“Becoming-Corpus” at BAM Fisher Fishman Space [321 Ashland Pl. between Lafayette Avenue and Hanson Place in Fort Greene, (718) 636–4100, www.bam.org]. Sept. 12–14, 8 pm, Sept. 15, 6 pm, tickets start at $20.