The Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute and SMU Dance Department invite you to the next event in the DCII's 2023-2024 Big Challenge Series on Climate Resilience— Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance's Arbor and Other Dances About Nature.

The company, who are Guest Artists with Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute and Meadows School of the Arts, perform a visually-stunning program exploring human entanglement with nature. Featured works highlight the acclaimed climate-engaged collaboration between choreographer Jody Sperling and environmental composer Matthew Burtner. Arbor dwells on the intimacy of trees. In Wind Rose, dancers render changing atmospheric patterns palpable to sight, sound, and touch. Plastic Harvest manifests the proliferation of plastic pollution to comic proportions. The Fjord Review called it a "visually gorgeous evening of performance" with "a deeper level to discover." 

All of these works feature transformative costumes that abstract the essence of human movement into elemental and organic forces, with the dancers variously appearing to conjure a forest grove, a mountain of waste, or sky filled with clouds. The company's unique style of movement draws inspiration from and furthers the art form created by dance icon Loie Fuller (1862-1928) a century ago. 

The performance will be followed by an artist talkback. 

This free public performance is the culminating event of the Guest Artists' weeklong residency focusing on climate change engagement through dance, including a panel discussion with SMU faculty, an accessible Communi-tree dance workshop, and more.