Infinite Bodies

Deepstaria

CONCEPT, DIRECTION, CHOREOGRAPHY AND DESIGN
Wayne McGregor

In collaboration with
CHOREOGRAPHY Company Wayne McGregor: Rebecca Bassett-Graham, Naia Bautista, Salvatore De Simone, Jordan James Bridge, Chia-Yu Hsu, Hannah Joseph, Jasiah Marshall, Salomé Pressac and Mariano Zamora Gonzalez

DESIGN
Benjamin Males SET
Theresa Baumgartner LIGHTING
Ilaria Martello COSTUME
Hannah Martin JEWELLERY

SOUND COMPOSITION
Nicolas Becker and LEXX
Powered by Bronze AI

DRAMATURGY
Uzma Hameed

PREMIERE DATE AND VENUE
22 June 2024, Montpellier Danse, Opéra Berlioz, Le Corum, France

Co-produced by
Montpellier Danse, France; Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, Italy; Pfalzbau Bühnen Ludwigshafen, Germany; Sadler’s Wells Theatre, UK. Co-Commissioned by West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong

Supported by
Amaike Super Organza/Chika Asai (fabric in Deep Sea Section), Harlequin Floors (Hi Shine Floor) & Target 3D. Thanks to Centre for Creative and Immersive eXtended Realities, University of Portsmouth and Callum Macdonald.

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCES OF 2024

'THE ABYSS, THE WOMB, THE FATHOMLESS DEPTHS OF SEA AND SPACE. THERE ARE THE SETTINGS FOR WAYNE MCGREGOR'S NEW "DEEPSTARIA," IN WHICH NINE DANCERS FLOAT AND SPIN, BUCKLE AND COLLAPSE, REGENERATE AND REFORM, IN A PROTEAN DISPLAY OF TECHNICAL VIRTUOSITY AND HUMAN FRAGILITY'

— Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times

'THE EXCELLENCE OF THE DANCERS AND THE COMPLEXITY OF THE CHOREOGRAPHIC WRITING, REAFFIRMED IN EVERY SEQUENCE, MAKE THIS VERY AMBITIOUS BALLET AND EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE FOR AN AUDIENCE IMMERSED IN A FRENZY OF VISUAL, SOUND AND LIGHT SENSATIONS. WITH DEEPSTARIA, WAYNE MCGREGOR REAFFIRMS HIS CREATIVE POWERS AND ABILITY TO CREATE A TOTAL EXPERIENCE USING NEW, CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY'

— Delphine Goater, Ballet 2000

'AND MORE THAN EVER, MCGREGOR PUTS VIRTUOSITY UNDER HIGH PRESSURE'

— Rosita Boisseau, Le Monde (originally in French)

“Let us journey into the heart of a black hole. Let us slip beyond its boundary, the horizon, and tumble – on and on – down this crack in the universe.” – Carlo Rovelli

Since the beginning of time, humankind has had a fascination with the void. From deep sea to deep space, these dark, mysterious zones ignite both our imagination and our desire to explore our world to its limits. In Deepstaria – a title inspired by an enigmatic species of jellyfish with a stellar-sounding name – Wayne McGregor conjures a highly sensory, meditative pure dance and sound experience which reflects on our profound relationship with the void and our own mortality.

“Journeying beyond ourselves, we search for knowledge to illuminate and develop our human condition. At the same time, these spaces of infinite blackness, womb-like, are strangely familiar – sounding forgotten connections deep within, and stirring, perhaps, faint echoes of unconscious states of being, floating in places of before and after." - Wayne McGregor

Utilising Vantablack technology on stage to create unfathomable darkness, McGregor visions an environment that disturbs traditional hierarchies of perception. In this void, acoustic imagery and animative music by Oscar-winning sound designer Nicolas Becker and renowned music producer LEXX create a sonic dreamscape that is continuously recomposed and performed by revolutionary digital audio engine Bronze AI – thus re-configuring the relationship between live dance and live recorded music in real time.

Like the jellyfish with its capacity for regeneration, Deepstaria invites us to dream anew our immortal connection with the universe that holds us.

Deepstaria is conceived as the first work in a diptych. The second: On the Other Earth (a choreographic installation) will premiere in 2025 in Jeffrey Shaw’s nVis, the world’s first 360 LED interactive post-cinematic screen, utilising its comprehensive instrumentarium of sensing technologies.

Image (jellyfish): Wayne McGregor's Deepstaria.
Performance images: Wayne McGregor's Deepstaria, Company Wayne McGregor (Naia Bautista, Salome Pressac), Laban Theatre, London (2024), Photo credit Ravi Deepres.

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