Lumens

Dance performance by

Elfi Schäfer-Schafroth

Set design installation by

Ron Pompei

Curated by Marion Wild

Dates: 27 Oct 05 - 30 Dec 05

The LUMENS performance by the "Tanzprojekt Elfi Schäfer-Schafroth" (www.tanzprojekt.ch), developed in cooperation with lighting and design artist Ron Pompei (www.pompeiad.com), was created for the C3 gallery. Inspired by the solo dance-theatre "Lichtungen," the elements of the performance are played against an installation of light sculptures that can be experienced as both stage design and an exhibition.

The light sculptures were jointly produced by Ron Pompei and the MB Wellington studio (www.lightblocks.com). The Plexiglas acrylic for the set was donated by MB Wellington Studio and Arkema (www.arkemagroup.com).

Read Full Press Release

The Swiss "Tanzprojekt Elfi Schaefer-Schafroth" – choreographer and dancer Elfi Schäfer-Schafroth, director Jochen Heinrich and stage designer Martin Schaefer – reaches across the boundaries of pure dance by including visual elements such as video animations. Lumens is a performance in three parts about different stages in the life of a woman. The first part includes excerpts from a piece called "Millefeuille," written in 1998, with music by Swiss composer Beat Escher. Parts two and three focus on excerpts from the groups’ latest production "Lichtungen." Literally translated as "glades" or "clearings" in English, the German word "Lichtungen" also means illumination and, in a metaphorical sense, a hope for life. Critics praised the solo dance performance and Jennifer Dunning, writing in the New York Times on October 20, 2004, described it as "...an immensely touching apparent journey through past hopes and disappointments." The choreography of the third part, specifically created for Lumens, includes a number of light sculptures, which thus become an essential part of the performance.

Made from semi-transparent materials, the illuminated sculptures are the work of Ron Pompei. He began his creative exploration as a fine artist, creating light art installations and sculptures that Philadelphia Magazine cited as "changing the face of Philadelphia". Since then, as co-founder and principal of the New York City based creative services firm Pompei A.D. (www.pompeiad.com), Ron has created ground breaking work in architecture, design, branding, and cultural entrepreneurship. His multidisciplinary education and training as an artist, sculptor and architect is the lifebloom of Pompei AD's holistic approach to its projects, enabling the firm to integrate diverse forms of expression into meaningful transformational experiences.

After the live event, a video of the performance will be projected onto one of the light sculptures for the remainder of the exhibition. The sculpture forest LUMENS thus undergoes a transformation after the dance performance of Elfi Schäfer-Schafroth (recorded by Character Generators Inc.). Through a change of context, the stage design becomes a sculptural exhibition.

Translated from German by Dieter Kuhn