Nora Gibson Contemporary Ballet in
Ephemeral
Friday, February 19th, 7pm
Saturday, February 20th, 7pm
Sunday, February 21st, 3pm
Saturday, February 20th, 7pm
Sunday, February 21st, 3pm
Music composed by Lighting Design by
Michael McDermott Katinka Marac
Michael McDermott Katinka Marac
Choreography by
Nora Gibson
Nora Gibson
Performed by the dancers of NGCB
Gina Battista Melissa McCarten
Adrianna de Svastich Amy Novinski
Jessica Warchal-King Sean Boyt Thomas
Cody Knable
Full biographies are listed here.
Gina Battista Melissa McCarten
Adrianna de Svastich Amy Novinski
Jessica Warchal-King Sean Boyt Thomas
Cody Knable
Full biographies are listed here.
Assistant LD Stagehand
Julia Novack Tuyet Corson
Kelly Orenshaw
Front of House Marketing/PR
Clark Gibson Emma MacDonald
Eve Gibson
Ushers
Polly MacIntyre
David Irwin
Julee Mahon
Emma Grace Elsmo
Julia Novack Tuyet Corson
Kelly Orenshaw
Front of House Marketing/PR
Clark Gibson Emma MacDonald
Eve Gibson
Ushers
Polly MacIntyre
David Irwin
Julee Mahon
Emma Grace Elsmo
We express our sincerest thanks to The Netherlands America Foundation, Creative Industries Fund NL, and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.
SPECIAL THANKS to our donors and supporters, without whom this work would not be possible.
Individual donors are listed here. Thank you: our gratitude runs deep. Additional thanks to Sandy Mitchel (video) and Kaitlin Chow (photography).
Individual donors are listed here. Thank you: our gratitude runs deep. Additional thanks to Sandy Mitchel (video) and Kaitlin Chow (photography).
Note from the choreographer:
Ephemeral is a full-evening ballet that is inspired by life cycles, seasons, and our relationship to Time. The development of this piece itself, had overlapping cycles. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to do some experimental research with Dutch lighting artist, Katinka Marac, which planted the seed, so to speak, for a continuing interest in questions relating to duration, our own perception of time, and the often powerful physicality that light and color contribute to these perceptions. Meanwhile, as those conversations between Marac and I continued, composer and longtime collaborator, Michael McDermott was developing his work with "sonic photography," capturing field recordings of the natural world, and contracting and expanding the experience of hearing the world around us. A residency with Marac allowed she and I to go deeper into our research, and invited a convergence of voices on this treatment of nature and Time: a lighting score of cyclical and temporal states, a sound score encompassing both the earthly and planetary, and a choreographic score reflecting the rhythmic identity of the seasons, while acknowledging Time as a limited commodity. The ballet is constructed in 11 parts. It stuck with me that Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons," a work I listened to daily for a few months at one point during the year Ephemeral was made, was able to describe with such particularity, though abstractly, both the details and essence of each season, all the while with such creativity in the compositional structure. The resultant work, Ephemeral, is my own attempt to find my Four Seasons in the choreography/structure: to find a rhythmic identity and mode to each section, to think imagistically, and to incorporate the life cycles or patterns within nature. I am grateful to have collaborators with strong parallel visions that push me to make better work. I am also grateful for the dancers, who came to rehearsal ready to build new synaptic pathways, and who are themselves the embodiment of all that is beautiful and inimitable in this world.
Ephemeral is a full-evening ballet that is inspired by life cycles, seasons, and our relationship to Time. The development of this piece itself, had overlapping cycles. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to do some experimental research with Dutch lighting artist, Katinka Marac, which planted the seed, so to speak, for a continuing interest in questions relating to duration, our own perception of time, and the often powerful physicality that light and color contribute to these perceptions. Meanwhile, as those conversations between Marac and I continued, composer and longtime collaborator, Michael McDermott was developing his work with "sonic photography," capturing field recordings of the natural world, and contracting and expanding the experience of hearing the world around us. A residency with Marac allowed she and I to go deeper into our research, and invited a convergence of voices on this treatment of nature and Time: a lighting score of cyclical and temporal states, a sound score encompassing both the earthly and planetary, and a choreographic score reflecting the rhythmic identity of the seasons, while acknowledging Time as a limited commodity. The ballet is constructed in 11 parts. It stuck with me that Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons," a work I listened to daily for a few months at one point during the year Ephemeral was made, was able to describe with such particularity, though abstractly, both the details and essence of each season, all the while with such creativity in the compositional structure. The resultant work, Ephemeral, is my own attempt to find my Four Seasons in the choreography/structure: to find a rhythmic identity and mode to each section, to think imagistically, and to incorporate the life cycles or patterns within nature. I am grateful to have collaborators with strong parallel visions that push me to make better work. I am also grateful for the dancers, who came to rehearsal ready to build new synaptic pathways, and who are themselves the embodiment of all that is beautiful and inimitable in this world.
Please be advised of the use of strobe lighting in this program. The ballet runs 1 hour without intermission. No late seating. Please turn off all hand-held devices before entering the theater. Thank you.