Constellation Stories
Stories of the Night Sky
The 2022-23 PLACE Project celebrated Seymour Planetarium at the Springfield Science Museum (Springfield, MA) with additional expanded productions for the Charles Hayden Planetarium, Museum of Science, Boston, and the Meeting of European Theatre Academies (Florence, Italy).
COVERAGE
Enjoy perusing the following links for photos and press coverage of this project's events, or scroll down further for more info on the project's mission and collaborators.
A special ‘Dance’ with the stars at Springfield Science Museum
KEITH O'CONNOR THE REPUBLICAN
A planetarium in Springfield gives new meaning to dancing with the stars
JACOB GARCIA GBH NEWS
Ludlow legacy leads to ‘Constellation Stories’ performance event
MARCELO GUSMAO LUDLOW REGISTER
ABOUT THE PROJECT
2022-23: Constellation Stories
Seymour Planetarium . Springfield MA
Charles Hayden Planetarium . Boston MA
Teatro della Pergola . Florence, Italy
PLACE Project embarked on a two-year project for its 2022-23 special program. This exciting collaborative performance of dance, light, and science featured astronomy-based mythologies from China, Japan, Estonia, Greece, Puerto Rico, and Cape Verde. Our Constellation Stories event comprised contemporary performances by Luminarium Dance Company; original music composition by Madeleine Shapiro (cellist, NYC) and Andreas Bergsland (electronics, Norway); traditional Taíno solos by Chali'naru Dones and Vinny “Tata’niki” Iraheta; and a new work by Henoch Spinola, all honoring the night sky. Constellation Stories was first created to celebrate Seymour Planetarium's 85th anniversary (the oldest planetarium in the country) at Springfield Science Museum in Springfield, MA with a grant from the Springfield Cultural Council. In November 2022, visitors were encouraged to wander the museum as dancers popped up in different locations throughout the afternoon. With a grant from The Boston Foundation, PLACE Project then expanded this production into a full-evening performance inside the historic Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science, Boston, in May 2023. Guerra's own choreography within the production was later expanded into a separate evening-length dance theatre work, Desiderium: Remnants of Longing, presented by the Meeting of European Theatre Academies in Florence, Italy, in July 2023.
MEET THE CHOREOGRAPHERS
Merli V. Guerra (MFA in Dance) is an award-winning choreographer and interdisciplinary artist combining dance, film, art, and design. She is founder and director of PLACE Project, integrating history, dance, and the arts since 2012; and co-founder and artistic director of Luminarium Dance Company, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Boston, MA (founded 2010), and Princeton, NJ (2017). Guerra has performed lead roles as a modern dancer and classical Odissi Indian dancer with acclaimed companies on tours to India (2007, 2012) and Japan (2009). Her artistic works have been presented by 100+ events across the U.S., and internationally in Europe, North America, Asia, and South America, with interactive art installations permanently on view in the U.S. and Portugal. She is a 2022 recipient of an Individual Artist Fellowship Award from NJ State Council on the Arts and Mid Atlantic Arts for her work in screendance, and a 2015 recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s prestigious Gold Star Award for her PLACE Project site-specific productions and community engagement.
Chali'naru Dones is a Borikén Taíno woman, member of the Guainía Taíno Tribe and Liaison to the United Confederation of Taíno People. A devoted mother, human rights advocate, artist, and creative entrepreneur, Dones and her son Tata’niki are often seen throughout New England sharing their culture's history through voice and dance. Her son, a powwow champion dancer captivates his audience with his spiritual uplifting energy. Together they will represent their nation with a four directions invocation, an Owl Dance, a Makana (War) Dance and close with a gratitude chant.
Henoch Spinola, a native of Cabo Verde Islands, began his classical training with Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theatre in Cambridge, MA, graduating from the Young Dancers Program in 2006 to become a full company member 2007. After leaving JMBT, Spinola began working with Prometheus Dance from 2011–2012, along with other dance companies local to Boston. He then moved to New York City to dance in a work by Itzik Galili at the Metropolitan Opera from 2013-2014. He completed the Master of Fine Arts program within the Creative Practice: Dance Professional Practice Pathway at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London in 2017. He is currently a core member with Boston Dance Theater.
MEET THE COMPOSERS
Called a “cello innovator” by Time Out NY, Madeleine Shapiro presently directs ModernWorks and performs as a solo recitalist throughout the United States, Europe and Latin America. In addition to her recital work, Shapiro has had residencies at numerous institutions presenting masterclasses and workshops. Her work has been called “focused and cohesive” (Time Out New York), “powerful and commandingly delivered” (The Strad, UK), and “played with great skill and sensitivity” (The Washington Post). Awards include: three Encore Awards from the American Composers Forum, and a Barlow Award, all to assist in the presentation of new works; First Prize in Adventurous Programming awarded by ASCAP‑Chamber Music America: a three-time Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome. Her two solo CDs, Electricity: works for cello and electronics and SoundsNature: works for cello and electronics appear on Albany records. Other recordings for Naxos, New World Records, C.R.I., Mode, SEAMUS, and HarvestWorks. More at madeleineshapiro.com.
Andreas Bergsland is professor in music technology at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). His recent research focuses on interactive dance and movement-sound interaction for users with and without disabilities. Bergsland has also been involved in composition and sound design for exhibitions, installations, dance performance, large scale multi-media events, in addition to doing live-electronics performances and working with computer instrument design for motion capture systems. In addition, he has composed several pieces for interactive dance that have been presented in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Canada and the U.S. in collaboration with choreographers like Robert Wechsler and Seh Yun Kim. Together with the MotionComposer team he received a special recognition award in the 2016 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition.
This project was funded in part by a grant from the Springfield Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; and a Live Arts Boston grant through The Boston Foundation.