Blog #1

This is a picture taken during last year’s Physical Graffiti. The dance pictured is my choreographed piece, Crushing Confinement. I chose this picture as my first blog post because I believe the lighting here is an accurate representation of the mood and atmosphere I strived to create in my piece. The lighting designer for my piece was Nita Mendoza, and it was a great experience collaborating with her and seeing how she interpreted the music and movement. In this photo there is a much stronger intensity downstage focusing on the soloist who is at a lower level than the rest of the dancers further upstage. The light on the dancers upstage creates a significantly different mood than the light downstage because there is less intensity. The audience is naturally drawn to the soloist downstage because the light is brighter on her than on the rest of the dancers. The brightness on the soloist is intensified because it is much darker all around her which creates this idea of being confined in a box. The color is quite neutral, and I believe this creates an idea of simplicity and it allows the audience to truly focus on the dancers and their movement. 

Photo Credit: Skye Schmidt

Lighting: Nita Mendoza