Bandaloop takes flight in the premier of “Harboring.”
Photograph courtesy Matt Haber.

           Oakland- based dance company, Bandaloop,  takes site- specific performance to new heights with their premier of “Harboring”, performed at Fort- Mason Center,  San Francisco from July 18-21. The company, led by artistic director, Amelia Rudolph and Associate Artistic Director, Rachael Lincoln, presents aerial dance on the sides of skyscrapers, off the edge of cliffs and bridges, in museums, historical sites, and natural spaces, re-defining the limits and possibilities of dance, the human body and site-specific art.

            The Fort Mason Center Festival Pavllion, a 50,000 square foot industrial pavilion on the edge of the bay has served multiple purposes since its construction in 1776. First built as a Spanish military base, the pavilion has since served as a US army headquarters, as a cargo depot for WWII war supplies, and as an immigration center. Bandaloop’s “Harboring” celebrates this rich history, offering a visually stimulating, evocative performance that enlivened the pavilion, portraying stories of lives that have passed through on their way to adventures at sea.

            The performance began as the audience gathered in the entry hall, separated from the main space with long dangling curtains. Packed into this small space, a sense of anticipation hung in the air- Like how I imagine passengers would feel awaiting months of voyage. The audience members were travelers in this space, waiting to embark on a journey thorough time, emotion and explorations in space.

With “Harboring,” Bandaloop has created a spectacle of astounding aerial performance.
Photograph courtesy Matt Haber.

             “Harboring” opened with a playful duet, performed perpendicular to the wall. As Jessica Swanson and Roel Seeber engaged in a lively and romantic tango, it was as if the dancers welcomed us aboard their ship in classic 1920’s fashion. As the duet concludes, a chorus of performers dressed in white beckoned us to the curtain, which slowly, with a great mechanical chorus, rose, revealing the large industrial set pieces which filled the empty pavilion.

            The following sections, performed around massive shipping crates and stages, moved the audience progressively further through the space to view each section.  The piece unfolded as the dancers launched themselves off the set pieces, flying and whirling through the air into each others arms or into opposing the directions. The dancers bodies appeared to sway and float as they told stories of the Bay Area’s naval past.

The dancers bodies appear to sway and float as they tell stories of the Bay Area’s naval past.
Photograph courtesy Matt Haber.

            The chorus of dancers dressed in white told stories of the common people. Bandaloop selected these dancers through an open call only weeks before opening night, seeking an unlimited number of individuals with or without performance experience. These “regular people” created subtle vignettes between the explosive performances of the company members, reminding the audience of the many lives and stories that passed through the building. No audition or formal dance experience necessary, these individuals were invited to participate in the storytelling of their city’s past.

            With “Harboring” Bandaloop created not only a spectacle of astounding aerial performance, but also a thought provoking, poignant reflection of San Francisco’s naval past and the many lives touched by this history.

For more information on Bandaloop visit:
http://bandaloop.org/