The College of the Holy Cross will host BANDALOOP, pioneers in vertical dance performance, on Sept. 8 beginning at 4:30 p.m. BANDALOOP interweaves intricate choreography, dynamic physicality and climbing technology turning the dance floor on its side, taking their performances out of the studio and onto skyscrapers, bridges, billboards, historical sites and cliff faces.
Using the façade of the Hogan Campus Center as its “stage,” BANDALOOP will activate the first-ever Festival of the Arts at Holy Cross with three ethereal 15-minute performances. Free and open to the public, the performances will take place at 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Guests are welcome to bring blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the outdoor performances. In case of inclement weather, the performances will take place on September 9. The event is sponsored by Arts Transcending Borders at the College.
The company will perform a sneak peek of their work on the clock tower of Worcester City Hall at 12 p.m. on Sept. 6. Media are invited and performers will be available for interviews.
“Arts Transcending Borders is excited to have led the effort to bring BANDALOOP to our region with support from the New England Foundation for the Arts. The company’s vast experience traversing natural and built landscapes across the nation is a perfect fit for our celebration of the many voices, the ingenuity and creativity that make up ‘This Land,’ our common theme for exploration through the arts this year,” noted Lynn Kremer, professor of theatre and director of Arts Transcending Borders.
“We normally don’t want members of the public scaling our historic City Hall, but in this case we’re excited to make an exception,” said City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. “BANDALOOP’s unique performance fits in perfectly with our #Worcester100 campaign to bring 100 events to City Hall and the Common this year, and the vibrant, active downtown we’re building every day. We can’t wait for the show.”
BANDALOOP’s week-long Holy Cross residency will begin on Sept. 4 and includes the Sept. 6 sneak peek performance at City Hall, off-the-ground technique workshops, the creation of site-specific work on the façade of Hogan Campus Center, and public performances on Sept. 8. BANDALOOP will be accompanied in part by live music performed by the music department’s Brooks Scholars, led by cellist Jan Szeraws-Müller, artist-in-residence at Holy Cross.
BANDALOOP performances are part of the inaugural Festival of the Arts at Holy Cross, a one-day event celebrating the arts across campus on Sept. 8. The event will bring student groups from Worcester Public Schools to engage in hands-on workshops, performances and public art and gallery tours. For more information, visit https://www.holycross.edu/bandaloop. For more information on BANDALOOP, visit bandaloop.org | @bandalooping
BANDALOOP’s Fall 2017 New England tour is funded in part by the Expeditions program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies. Holy Cross is the first stop on this tour with stops at Middlebury College, Portland Ovations, and Wellesley College.
Preview BANDALOOP's unique vertical dance below:
Media Coverage
Telegram & Gazette, Aug. 30: Vertical dance company BANDALOOP to perform on side of City Hall, Holy Cross
