Walking into the space for About Shadows, I bumped into musician Stefano Barone who informed me where the audience would be invited to sit. I looked down to see a row of cushions on the floor and quickly grabbed my spot before the crowd came in. Soon enough, the room was packed. The audience was sitting right up to the edge of the stage, just behind the row of cables and lights that shone over onto the performers. There was anticipation in the room. The moment before a performance happens. What happens next?
What happened next was like nothing I have ever experienced in Dance. The natural energy from the ensemble, paired with the transformations happening on and off the projections, widened the limits of what I conceive Theatre for Young Audiences to be. The world created through this performance constructed stories poetically, ironically, and of course, theatrically.
About Shadows proved to me that the only thing limiting ourselves is our own imagination. Lilija Lipora has choreographed a piece that defies light, dark, and what Theatre for Young Audiences can be. Through hypnotic movements, theatrical illusions, and music, I saw stories unfold in a way I would have never expected. There is something surprisingly magical About the Shadows and I am so grateful that I was lucky enough to see it.
