Site-Specific Projects
Selected Video Performances
From the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano to the sprawling Muckenthaler Mansion in Fullerton, ArchiTexture Dance Company has enchanted audiences in many unusual venues, inspiring the public to take a second look at places and reimagine the way spaces can be used. Choreographer Deidre Cavazzi has created theatrical dance events to celebrate National Banned Books Week in a grand three-story library, commemorate the legacy of Bobby Fischer with a 40’ x 40’ human chess game, and explore maritime history with a duet between dancers on the deck of the historic tallship Brig Pilgrim and sailors perched 90’ aloft. Below are performance excerpts chronicling the history of the dance company (founded in 2006), and demonstrating Architecture Dance Company’s love of transformative spaces and inspiring environments. Whether it is the 4-story Calit2 engineering building on the campus of UC Irvine or a 46-story glass elevator in the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Deidre examines the potential of human movement at the intersection of art and architecture.
Artistic Director & Choreographer:
Deidre Cavazzi
Artistic Director & Choreographer: Deidre Cavazzi
Chess comes to life as 32 dancers leap, advance and battle their way across a giant board with all movements based on the famous 1972 world championship third chess game between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Performances were held on the Village Green at the Norman P. Murray Center as part
of the Mission Viejo Readers’ Festival and were sponsored by the city of Mission Viejo.
Artistic Director & Choreographer:
Deidre Cavazzi
Artistic Director & Choreographer:
Deidre Cavazzi
text
Artistic Director & Choreographer:
Deidre Cavazzi
Sonnet for the Sea is a site-specific performance created for the Brig Pilgrim, designed to use the unique architecture of the historic tallship as an environment for dance. ArchiTexture Dance Company collaborated with the Ocean Institute to produce this evening of dance and music as a fundraiser for the Ocean Institute’s Maritime and Outdoor Education Programs after a devastating fire in the Cleveland National Forest destroyed their nature center.
Artistic Director & Choreographer:
Deidre Cavazzi
“I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours. Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener.”
~Arvo Pårt The creation of this piece has been inspired by this quote, and by both the beauty of the Muckenthaler mansion and the music of Arvo Pårt. This dance performance is also like white light—it is an abstract interpretation of Pårt’s music, and of the landscape of the Muckenthaler—the expansive green lawn, the cozily
lit lampposts and windows, the setting sun sending shadows across the buildings…we have choreographed a symphony of dancers, moving in arpeggios and sustained adagios, partnering with each other, with the architecture, and with the music, and hopefully inspiring a spectrum of thoughts and impressions for you, our listeners and viewers…
Artistic Director & Choreographer:
Deidre Cavazzi
As a celebration of the holiday season, ArchiTexture dancers performed for audiences in the Great Stone Church at the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. This lantern piece has also been performed in many venues for the holidays including the Kershaw Garden in Mission Viejo, Heritage Park in Lake Forest, the Ocean Institute in Dana Point Harbor, and Pike’s Place in downtown Long Beach.
Artistic Director & Choreographer:
Deidre Cavazzi
This is the first ArchiTexture Dance performance, created as an informal performance piece while Deidre Cavazzi was in graduate school at UC Irvine, and set in the Natural Sciences Plaza II on campus. The mirrored surface of the building behind the dancers created interesting reflections as the dancers moved on and between the cement pedestals that encircled the plaza.
Artistic Director & Choreographer:
Deidre Cavazzi
This is the first ArchiTexture Dance performance, created as an informal performance piece while Deidre Cavazzi was in graduate school at UC Irvine, and set in the Natural Sciences Plaza II on campus. The mirrored surface of the building behind the dancers created interesting reflections as the dancers moved on and between the cement pedestals that encircled the plaza.