Dancing about architecture

June 12, 2013

The unusual design and architecture of Seattle’s Central Library has inspired many people. Every day, throughout the day, someone can be seen taking pictures of the steel and glass building both inside and out. Photographers are found around the Fourth or Fifth Avenue entrances looking into the honeycombed windows or skyward at the jutted angles that give the building its unique shape. They are also seen wandering inside the library, taking in the intense red walls of Level 4 or capturing the plays of light created in atrium of the Betty Jane Narver Reading Room on Level 10. In a way, a photographer does a kind of dance—bending, turning and balancing in order to get the perfect shot. Their work not only depicts the physical structure of the Library, but can also serve to evoke particular sentiments and ideas.

Dancing is another method of artistic interpretation. For a dancer, their body is the camera. What they see and how they see it is reflected in their purposeful movements of strength, grace and emotion.

This weekend, The Seattle Public Library is thrilled to present the premiere of “Dancing about Architecture,” a new dance work specially created for the architecture of the Central Library. Choreographer Lilah Steece and the Sapience Dance Collective will interpret the building’s dynamic space—exploring the concepts of the Library as a hive-like meeting site, a venue for exploring ideas, a socket to connect to digital or even alien worlds, and a place to reflect on the human experience. Audience members will follow dancers as they perform in different areas of the library. (Be sure to wear good walking shoes!)