Rock climbers have a special relationship with surfaces they climb. What happens when this elevated awareness is fused with dance?
Have you ever dreamt of flying, of twisting and turning through the air with no fear? Amelia Rudolph had this dream often as a child. One day, when rock climbing in the Sierra Mountains of California, this multi-faceted dancer who holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Comparative Religion re-imagined her dream. Her vision was a synthesis, a merging of rock climbing with dance.
Bandaloop was founded in 1991 to explore the possibilities of vertical dance. Dancing was brought to the mountains and climbing was brought to urban environments as dancers and rock climbers learned to fuse their skills. The result is something transcendent: performing that allows the dancer/climber to realize the dream of flight, assisted by ropes and equipment, and brings the audience along to share the wonder. Normally, rock climbing is a very self focused and isolated discipline, while dance, with all its theatrical tradition, can feel intimidating to an audience. Somehow, in fusing the two a situation occurs that draws the audience into that focused dreamscape with the performer, breaking down walls. It’s truly impressive and inspiring. Just the kind of thing we love to explore at synkroniciti.
Video via BANDALOOP on YouTube
Amazed? Intrigued? Please check out their website for more about Bandaloop.