Chunky Move, "Mortal Engine"

Working from the premise that the body has no limits, Mortal Engine uses a spectacular mix of space-slashing choreography and hyper technology to deconstruct the boundaries between the self and other. Conceived by the dynamic Australian troupe Chunky Move (which made its US debut at the 2001 Next Wave Festival), Mortal Engine portrays a shimmering, ever-shifting world as the human figure metamorphoses into light, image, and sound, and back again.

Every action incites a reaction: a lone dancer's gesture stirs a passage of music, another's washes the stage in shadow. Sparks fly. Acid green lasers perforate the darkness, transforming the space into a cosmic force field. As the dancers—performing on a tilted platform at once exhilarating and disorienting—create music and light, Mortal Engine reveals the energy that moves us, never predictable and always changing.

Direction and Choreography by Gideon Obarzanek
Interactive system design by Frieder Weiss
Laser and sound artist Robin Fox
Composed by Ben Frost
Costume design by Paula Levis
Lighting design by Damien Cooper
Set design by Richard Dinnen and Gideon Obarzanek