“Let us journey into the heart of a black hole. Let us slip beyond its boundary, the horizon, and tumble – on and on – down this crack in the universe.” – Carlo Rovelli
Since the beginning of time, humankind has had a fascination with the void. From deep sea to deep space, these dark, mysterious zones ignite both our imagination and our desire to explore our world to its limits. In Deepstaria – a title inspired by an enigmatic species of jellyfish with a stellar-sounding name – McGregor conjures a highly sensory, meditative pure dance and sound experience which reflects on our profound relationship with the void and our own mortality.
“Journeying beyond ourselves, we search for knowledge to illuminate and develop our human condition. At the same time, these spaces of infinite blackness, womb-like, are strangely familiar – sounding forgotten connections deep within, and stirring, perhaps, faint echoes of unconscious states of being, floating in places of before and after”. Wayne McGregor
Utilising Vantablack Vision® technology on stage to create unfathomable darkness, McGregor visions an environment that disturbs traditional hierarchies of perception. In this void, acoustic imagery and animative music by Oscar-winning sound designer Nicolas Becker and renowned music producer LEXX create a sonic dreamscape that is continuously recomposed and performed by revolutionary digital audio engine Bronze AI* – thus re-configuring the relationship between live dance and live recorded music in real time.
Like the jellyfish with its capacity for regeneration, Deepstaria invites us to dream anew our immortal connection with the universe that holds us.
Deepstaria is conceived as the first work in a diptych. The second: On the Other Earth (a choreographic installation) will premiere in 2025 in Jeffrey Shaw’s nVis, the world’s first 360 LED interactive post-cinematic screen, utilising its comprehensive instrumentarium of sensing technologies.
CREDITS
DEEPSTARIA
CONCEPT, DIRECTION, CHOREOGRAPHY AND DESIGN: Wayne McGregor
In collaboration with:
CHOREOGRAPHY created with and danced by Company Wayne McGregor: Rebecca Bassett-Graham, Naia Bautista, Salvatore De Simone, Jordan James Bridge, Chia-Yu Hsu, Hannah Joseph, Jasiah Marshall, Salomé Pressac, Mariano Zamora Gonzalez
DESIGN:
Benjamin Males SET
Theresa Baumgartner LIGHTING
Ilaria Martello COSTUME
Hannah Martin JEWELLERY
SOUND COMPOSITION: Nicolas Becker and LEXX
Powered by Bronze
DRAMATURGY: Uzma Hameed
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR: Odette Hughes
LIGHTING ASSOCIATE: Ben Kreukniet
Production team credits for touring performances provided on request.
Co-produced by Montpellier Danse, France; Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, Italy; Pfalzbau Bühnen Ludwigshafen, Germany; Sadler’s Wells Theatre, UK. Co-Commissioned by West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong.
Supported by Harlequin Floors, Target 3D and the British Council as part of the UK/France Spotlight on Culture 2024 Together We Imagine.
Thanks to Centre for Creative and Immersive eXtended Realities, University of Portsmouth.
