ABOUT THE EVENT

Making its world premiere at The Clarice, SUPERCELL is an evening-length dance work with a multidisciplinary angle responding to climate change, media sensationalism, desensitization and environmental collapse. The title refers to the large storms of deep, persistent updrafts often resulting in many tornadoes. While supercells are terrifying and ominous harbingers of great damage, they are simultaneously breathtaking environmental events when witnessed from afar. The effect is similar to sensationalist media, instantly amplifying catastrophic events for an insatiable public’s consumption. Throughout their creation process, slowdanger consulted with scientists, educators, climate activists, anthropologists, sociologists, sustainable design experts and a dramaturgical advisor.

A Pittsburgh-based, multidisciplinary performance ensemble, slowdanger was founded in 2013 by co-artistic directors Taylor Knight and Anna Thompson. The queer non-binary-led organization uses a systematic approach to movement, integrative technology, found material, electronic instrumentation, vocalization, physiological centering and ontological examination to produce their hypnotic performance work. “Anna Thompson and Taylor Knight are always up to something cool,” raves the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The will be a post-show Q&A with the artists following the Thursday, September 21 performance.

FUNDING

SUPERCELL is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. SUPERCELL is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation and Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Kelly Strayhorn Theater, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and NPN. SUPERCELL is also supported by the Opportunity Fund, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments, with additional residency support from NCCAkron, The Space Upstairs and New York University's Tisch School o f the Arts Department of Dance.

Additional funding has come from the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. The performance is also supported by the Maryland State Arts Council and The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.