DATA or 7 Ways to Dance a Dance Through Prison Walls

"In a world where punishment pretends to be a solution, we all suffer the chains of inequity. IN a world where we dance with, believe in, and cherish one another; we rise on wings of unity. Only together, may we be free." - Forrest Reyes

In March 2020, when Dancing Through Prison Walls’ ten-year choreographic residency inside the CRC Prison in Norco was put on hold due to the pandemic, artistic director, Suchi Branfman, began an ongoing handwritten log, archiving covid positivity numbers and deaths inside the California state prisons. Unbeknownst to her at the time, this archive handwritten on pads of yellow legal paper would become the basis for this latest work, DATA or 7 ways to dance a dance through prison walls. All the while, dances written from prison bunks were being sent out, including the stunning piece that drives this performance, I Am You, written by Forrest Reyes, who remains locked inside prison walls. The profound devastation of covid inside prisons living side by side with acts of resilience and community survival. 

 

The 45-minute piece is performed by an ensemble of seven formerly incarcerated and “free world” performers. Held through a deeply landscaped sound score created by visual/sonic designer, Jimena Sarno, and massive set design supervised by graphic designer Kimi Hanauer – both of which are inspired by paper, the material that holds the data and carries the dances through prison walls. 

Support the upcoming tour of this work, which begins February 10 and 11, at Dance at The Odyssey, in Los Angeles. https://odysseytheatre.com/whats-on/dance-at-the-odyssey-3/

 

“A virtual performance space of embodied liberation.” 

Autre 

 

“What Suchi Branfman and the artists around her are doing is nothing short of incredible.” 

                        Jeff Slayton, LA Dance Chronicle