“Light is a powerful substance. We have a primal connection to it… I like to work with it so that you feel it physically, so you feel the presence of light inhabiting a space. Japanese Buddhas are traditionally covered with gold not to honor their greatness but to reflect the candlelight in the darkness of the temple.”
– James Turrell, artist

LIGHTS consist of three dancers using six-foot fluorescent fixtures in a voluminous black space. Shifting the lights, turning them on and off, continuously transforms the space and illuminates a routine of precise body movements. Structures appear, shift and become blushes of light.

The piece utilizes the idea that what happens in the shadows of a performance space is as captivating and seductive as what happens in the spot light.

Directed by: Maria Hassabi
Performers: Luciana Achugar, Jenny Argyriou, Maria Hassabi
Set design: Thomas Sandbichler
Music: Azores
Costumes: Stelios Stylianou

SHOWS

2002
– Alambra Theater, Athens, Greece (March 29-April 1)

2001
– Fringe Tomar International Festival of Contemporary Dance, Portugal (September 23)
– Premiere: Biennale of young artists of Europe and the Mediterranean, Sarajevo (July 22)
– PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, NY (July 14)
– Movement Research at Judson Memorial Church, NY
– Dixon Place, NY

PRESS

“The sound of a tree crashing down without witness. The falling shapes behind your eyelids. “Lights” is a stunning new dance piece choreographed by Maria Hassabi…”
V MAGAZINE, Ranjani Gopalarathinam, September 2001

CREDITS

LIGHTS received funding from the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture.