By: Eva Ensmann
There exists a thin veil between life and death. The beauty and brevity of life, and the certainty of death are inextricably intertwined.
Early October, I was visiting my father in the hospital and he had just had a vivid dream of me dancing using dry ice as a veil. He described it to me in as much detail as possible: music, instruments played and at what time, costuming, lighting, scenery... His brother and niece called from Germany and he refused to talk to them because he could not be interrupted from describing the vision. I decided to try to bring his vision to life. So began our final project together. It lasted over a month. First he secured the bowls for me, because they need to be insulated in order to hold the dry ice safely. Then the experimentation with the size of the bowl, amount of dry ice, amount of water and temperature of water. Then experimenting with what types of moves are possible while holding potentially dangerous super cold liquid that is sloshing around. I would video tape all the trials and then email them to him so that later we could discuss what worked, what didn't work and what to try next. It was fun. The marriage of science experiment and art. But what I most enjoyed was working with my father on the project. I believe that he was very happy that I took him seriously and was trying to bring his vision to life.
So many parts came together to make this performance possible. First thank you to Teresa Tomb. 1001 Nights: One Veiling show as a larger stage show and how this piece could get incorporated into it. Next the music. I couldn't find canned music that was satisfactory for my father. Yeah for live music which is always far better. This amazing ethereal piece was created / performed by Diane Timmons, Tripp Bratton, Julie A Fauxe, and Jeff Watts. Video footage by Julie A Fauxe and @Dylan Coleman Blount, edited by Julie A Fauxe.
My father passed away 4 days prior to me performing this version of his vision. But a few days before his passing, I danced this piece for him twice in his living room as I continued to get his input and refine it. "Daddy's Dry Ice piece" was a wonderful process between my father and I, and ultimately so many collaborators in order to literally make a dream come true. I am sure he would of been very proud of all of us. Before stepping out onto the stage, he would of told me: "Enjoy the experience!"
There exists a thin veil between life and death. The beauty and brevity of life, and the certainty of death are inextricably intertwined.
Early October, I was visiting my father in the hospital and he had just had a vivid dream of me dancing using dry ice as a veil. He described it to me in as much detail as possible: music, instruments played and at what time, costuming, lighting, scenery... His brother and niece called from Germany and he refused to talk to them because he could not be interrupted from describing the vision. I decided to try to bring his vision to life. So began our final project together. It lasted over a month. First he secured the bowls for me, because they need to be insulated in order to hold the dry ice safely. Then the experimentation with the size of the bowl, amount of dry ice, amount of water and temperature of water. Then experimenting with what types of moves are possible while holding potentially dangerous super cold liquid that is sloshing around. I would video tape all the trials and then email them to him so that later we could discuss what worked, what didn't work and what to try next. It was fun. The marriage of science experiment and art. But what I most enjoyed was working with my father on the project. I believe that he was very happy that I took him seriously and was trying to bring his vision to life.
So many parts came together to make this performance possible. First thank you to Teresa Tomb. 1001 Nights: One Veiling show as a larger stage show and how this piece could get incorporated into it. Next the music. I couldn't find canned music that was satisfactory for my father. Yeah for live music which is always far better. This amazing ethereal piece was created / performed by Diane Timmons, Tripp Bratton, Julie A Fauxe, and Jeff Watts. Video footage by Julie A Fauxe and @Dylan Coleman Blount, edited by Julie A Fauxe.
My father passed away 4 days prior to me performing this version of his vision. But a few days before his passing, I danced this piece for him twice in his living room as I continued to get his input and refine it. "Daddy's Dry Ice piece" was a wonderful process between my father and I, and ultimately so many collaborators in order to literally make a dream come true. I am sure he would of been very proud of all of us. Before stepping out onto the stage, he would of told me: "Enjoy the experience!"
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