Philadelphia’s green spaces are favored sites for hiking, bird watching, and finding reprieve from the hustle and bustle of daily life. But at one forest in Roxborough, nature becomes the center stage for drama and dance.
The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education is hosting “TERRA: Bodies & Territories” on its grounds. Philadelphia-based choreographer Silvana Cardell’s latest project works with the forest as a collaborator, exploring the relationship between women and the land while honoring the ancestral protectors who preceded us. This is not new territory for the 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, whose work regularly addresses social issues and breaks norms.
In “TERRA”, Cardell poses the question, “What does it mean to live inside a body that is constantly politicized, controlled, or dismissed?” Through times of war and political turmoil, how are women and the earth united in the shared experience of exploitation, but also in the ability to survive despite these threats?
The non-linear, experimental dance set is carried by an ensemble of women and femme dancers ranging between the ages of seven to 78. Each sequence is intimate and requires the dancers to trust each other and the land, as they raise each other up and climb the trees with great agility. Dancers must be aware of every rock, branch, and creature in the space and adapt movements within each performance. The range of ages represents what has come before and what will come after and allows the performers to weave their memories together to learn from one another.
The score for the play is a collection of audio collected straight from the site, capturing how the sounds of urban life and the environmental sanctuary blend together. For months, composer Devin Arne recorded the ambient sounds heard in the forest to turn into instruments, such as the melodic songbirds, babbling stream, and passing trains’ blaring horns and screeching rails. At one point, Arne even buried the mic into the ground to record stomps. At other times, the incorporated sounds were improvised.
Dancers become one with nature in "TERRA". (Courtesy of Michelle Smith)
The score shifts the tone in the space automatically. An audience member may be at peace due to the soft breeze and sunlight, only to later feel tension in the body upon the ominous calls of crows and booms of a torrential storm as the dancers’ movements become more erratic, evoking urgency.
The natural light and its warmth is inviting and illuminates the dancers in a way studio lights can’t do justice. The production is low-impact, with minimal materials used for staging and sculptures. Set designer Sarah Kavage utilizes fallen trees to represent femininity, such as extended branches transformed into a manicured hand and others whittled to look like heels.
“TERRA” allows for attendees both familiar and unfamiliar with the Schuylkill Center to interact with nature and the organization’s mission in a new way.
Guests will have to walk on an uneven, unpaved forest path to get to the main performance circle inside the forest. You can fully immerse yourself by sitting on the logs organized for an amphitheater effect. Otherwise, feel free to bring your own blanket or move freely. When registering for your preferred performance date, you can request accommodations.
“TERRA” will be performed outdoors June 13 to 15 and 20 to 22. In the event of inclement weather, June 28 and 29 are reserved as rain dates. Guests may also visit a gallery and a 3-D experience inside the visitor center exploring the concepts of the performance.
