The View From Nowhere, an interdisciplinary program directed by Sara Camnasio, delved into the discussion of the Overview Affect and space tourism in a new and thought provoking way. The performance by Julian B. and Jocelyn T. used a variety of different techniques in order to portray the main themes of the Overview Effect.
With the lights dimmed, the audience felt as if blood was pulsing as the thump of a bass gained power. A mix of sharp and fluid motions throughout the choreography created a sense of chaos, like an internal battle was being fought both in the body and in the mind. The electronic music began to mellow out and the dancers’ movements became more and more calm until a feeling of serenity filled the theatre. The dancers stared with wide eyes like they were experiencing the Overview Effect themselves. From this point, the performance took a wild turn. The dancers began using their voices as instruments making a variety of noises. This period of the dance evoked another sense of battle yet different to the first. As the dancers began walking in a circle they mirrored hand signs as if they were relearning how to connect with others. The theme of support began to arise as the dancers began leaning on each other in the space. The use of the voice as an instrument continued. What started out as indistinguishable sounds, slowly turned to words including harmony and unity. From there countries were named in a back and forth pattern as Julian and Jocelyn orbited around each other in a circular motion. They also used the words who, what, why, when and where, helping to evoke more questions from the audience.
After the intermission, PJ Gorre a philosopher of Science from the New School, spoke about what science research reveals about us as humans as well as what it achieves. He brought up topics including space tourism and how it may change our perceptions of humankind. During the question and answer section at the end of the night Sara spoke about her aspirations to bring science back into the public light through multidisciplinary works. Questions about time as a relative measure were proposed and Jocelyn and Julian explained some of the methods of their fluid choreography style. The View From Nowhere was an interesting and thought provoking event that succeeded in connecting the arts and science under one roof. It was interesting to see ideas and themes portrayed in modern dance and then hear the choreographers speak about what motivated them to create this piece.
