Audiences will experience a theatrical art form of shadow dancing as Catapult Entertainment presents “Magic Shadows” in Fairfield on Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $36 (includes ticketing fees). Purchase tickets by phone at 513-867-5348, stop by the Fairfield Community Arts Center or order tickets online at FairfieldOH.gov/Tickets.
The art of shadow dancing combines dance, storytelling, and sculpture. The dancers work together to create shadow illusions that go along with music and storytelling.
“Catapult is a shadow illusion theater company. So, we use dance, and bodies behind a screen to create images, and with those images, we tell stories,” said Adam Battelstein, founding director of Catapult Entertainment.
He said it’s like hand shadows but using multiple bodies to create shapes.
“Magic Shadows” is a 75-minute show, performed by seven to eight dancers.
“The format is like a dance concert, so there are multiple pieces or works of different lengths. Some of them will be short, around five minutes, or a short story, and others will be 18-20 minutes of a longer-form story, but there’s a mix,” Battelstein said.
Each story has a title, a beginning, middle, and an ending. The lights will black out between pieces as each story begins.
“The way that we tell the stories is by making images, so there’s no words in the performance. It’s all storytelling through visual imagery, which is a great advantage when you’re touring internationally, because you don’t have a language barrier. It’s a language that anybody can understand,” said Battelstein.
With the kind of stories we tell, he said, there’s no question about the meaning. “The meaning is clear, and the astounding part is the way in which we tell the stories by dissolving from one shape into the other and by interacting on stage.”
“You have to see it to understand it. The reason we call it ‘magic’ is because it is like a magic show, where we are doing these transformations from one shape to the next. You won’t be able to figure out how we’re doing it, and that creates some mystery and excitement. Then, those images will tell a story, and the stories can be emotional, and some of them are funny,” Battelstein said.
The show is geared toward audiences of all ages and is packed with hundreds of transformations from beginning to end.
Sheldrick said “Magic Shadows” is a series of eight different stories, which includes Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, where dancers transform into a mountain, an elephant, a dragon, or even a helicopter, and travel the world from Beijing to Paris.
“People will know this one by name, because it’s set to ‘The Four Seasons’ by Antonio Vivaldi, and it gives musical expression to each season of the year. It’s been a huge hit, but the whole show is filled with iconic images, and it’s uplifting and poignant. Everybody has just loved their performances wherever they’ve been,” said Sheldrick.
The show also includes a special shadow dance using cutting-edge technology to create Color Shadows, a technique unique to Catapult. The dance brings the dancers in front of the screen and creates a stunning spectacle of color which is unforgettable.
“This is a world-class performance company, and we’re really excited to have them here in Fairfield,” Sheldrick said. “Audiences are going to be dazed and happy, and they are never going to look at their own shadow the same way again.”
How to go
What: Catapult Entertainment presents “Magic Shadows”
When: Feb. 9 at 8 p.m.
Where: Fairfield Community Arts Center, 411 Wessel Drive in Fairfield
Cost: Tickets are $36; (includes ticketing fees.)
More info: Order tickets by phone at 513-867-5348, stop by the Fairfield Community Arts Center or purchase tickets online at FairfieldOH.gov/Tickets. All ages show.
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