Some of Vermont’s musicians and movers take center stage when the multi-talented group Soft Rocks comes to Phantom Theater on Wednesday, August 28.
Matt LaRocca, violist/guitarist and the creative chair of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, is joined by drummer Jeremy Frederick, and bassist/saxophonist Kyle Saulnier to produce the soundscape that dancers Jessie Owens, Nicole Dagesse, Hanna Satterlee and Danielle Tekut move to.
“I gathered this group together with the initial desire and invitation to experiment, explore, co-create and witness emergence together,” said Owens. “We have been actively finding our way together since then. We are each of us contributing ideas and suggestions in all kinds of ways. A beautiful practice of yes/and.”
The relationship between the music and movement is a symbiotic one, as Hanna Satterlee elaborated: “It is trance-like as a dancer. To feel and sense the other bodies, while hearing and feeling sound. I believe this experience translates to the viewer – all senses have the possibility to be stimulated if we open ourselves up to it.”
This is one of the goals Soft Rocks sets out to achieve in their performances, to transcend conventional notions about the relationship between music and dance. “There are moments when the music drives the movement,” explained LaRocca. “And moments when the movement drives the music. And there’s a final state, the best one, where it’s indistinguishable who is leading who. These are the moments to strive for, when we are all truly creating something unique.”
Inspired by the location and atmosphere of the performance space, every show is one-of-a-kind. “We have all gathered and created various improvisational scores together, and new scores are always emerging,” explained Owens. “It is always improvised within some set parameters. We sometimes ask the audience to choose the score. We often use the element of chance to determine who begins.”
Phantom Theater presents Soft Rocks Wednesday, August 28, at 8 p.m. Tickets are available online or at the door on a first come, first serve basis. For more information visit www.phantomtheater.org.
