Interdisciplinary Projects

Bloom:
Exploring California Ecology Through Dance Theatre

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature,
he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
― John Muir

NANO:
Exploring the Science of the Very Small through Dance Theatre

Nanoscience Talk: Dr Jessamyn Fairfield, Choreography: Deidre Cavazzi. Premiere at NUI Galway O'Donoghue Centre, November 2018 as part of National Science Week Ireland. Supported by a public engagement grant from the UK Institute of Physics.

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Ice Memory:
Arctic Musings and Movement Inspired by the Journey North

Inspired by her Arctic Circle arts and sciences residency in Svalbard, Deidre collaborated with geologist Dr James Repka, architect Blake Stephens, lighting designer Tim Swiss and visual artist Laura Haight to create an evening of lectures and dance theatre responding to climate change and plastics pollution. The production opens with three short lectures on related topics, and the choreography begins at 41 minutes. Click on the image to be directed to the Channel 39 recording!

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Entangled States:
Exploring the Intersection of
Dance and Physics

Choreographer Deidre Cavazzi collaborated with physics professor Dr Todd Brei to create a performance project based around properties of light and the movement of sub-atomic particles. The evening began with a physics lecture, followed by a contemporary dance performance (starting at 38 minutes in the video). A student photography display based on light and movement (curated by Jennifer Porter) was on display in front of the McKinney Theatre during the week of performances.

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Sequences and Spirals:
Exploring Fibonacci Numbers through Music, Dance, Math and the Visual Arts

Artistic director Deidre Cavazzi organized an interdisciplinary celebration of Fibonacci numbers which featured mini-lectures on the sequence’s relationship to math (presented by Deanna Valdez), architecture (presented by Blake Stephens), and horticulture (presented by Robert Farnsworth and Ken Lee). Cavazzi created choreography to accompany the premiere of Norman Weston’s new orchestral work, as well as a piece combining text, movement, and projected images. A lobby display of student photography and visual art, curated by Ryan Even and Erin O’Shea, also accompanied the performances.

Bodies and Ink:
Celebrating National Banned Books Week through Movement, Music and Theatre

Deidre Cavazzi choreographed a site-specific production in the three-story Saddleback College Library and Learning Resource Center for National Banned Books Week, bringing together dance, music and theatre performances in celebration of literature. Pieces were inspired by books including The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Great Gatsby, A Streetcar Named Desire, Charlotte’s Web and Speak. Bill McGuire contributed additional direction, and Scott Farthing composed the score for Charlotte’s Web.

Rite of Spring Centennial

In honor of the one-hundred year anniversary of Stravinsky and Nijinsky’s production of Le Sacre du Printemps with the Ballets Russes, choreographer Deidre Cavazzi created a new version, accompanied by Kirill Gliadkovsky and Norman Weston performing Stravinsky’s 4-hand score for grand piano. The McKinney Theatre performance was preceded by brief music and dance history lectures on the importance of the 1913 production, presented by Norman Weston and Deidre Cavazzi respectively.

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