an outdoor performance celebrating the summer solstice at Bemis Park
Premiere Date: June 22, 2024
Run Time: 41 minutes
Directed by: Annie Schenzel
Choreography by: Kat Fackler, Stephanie Huettner, Gayle Rocz, Annie Schenzel
Dancers: Kyan Doubet, Kat Fackler, Kara Gillmore, Stephanie Huettner, Jenn Nicholson, Gayle Rocz, Alyssa Rivera, Annie Schenzel
Collaborators: Kevin Bullis, Joelle Wellansa Sandfort
Photographs by Ben Semisch
As we move from winter and spring into summer, we are nourished by warmth, sunlight, and abundant growth. In this performance the music, movement, costumes, art installation, and location come together to express the energy of the summer sun, our cyclical movement through time, and the role of balance in the seasons we live through.
The Stage
tbd. dancers had been dreaming of a safe and beautiful dance surface to protect our bones and joints from impact during our performances. With a call to our prop designer, Kevin Bullis, the portable stage project began! Kevin designed and built a large, modular stage made up of 40 wooden panels that fit together to create a 20’ x 30’ flat structure. The stage was then set up in the “bowl” or lowest valley point of the park, and audience members were encouraged to sit on the hills surrounding the stage for better visibility.
Leaning Toward the Sun
Leaning Toward the Sun was an outdoor art installation created by Joelle Wellansa Sandfort in collaboration with tbd. dance collective for Line in Time. For this installation, five large mobiles made from brightly colored acrylic and curved wire were suspended above the stage and dancers. Each unique mobile was inspired by the dancers' playful movements and shapes that invoke summer: the bright sun, winding vines, blooming flowers, hands, feet, and leaves.
About the Artist: Joelle Wellansa Sandfort is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Omaha, Nebraska. She makes drawings, tapestries, fabric collages, and installations using an experimental approach to traditional craft processes. Joelle graduated with the highest distinction from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2018, where she earned her BA in Art and Art Education Endorsement. She has exhibited work at Elder Gallery, Eisentrager-Howard Gallery, Tugboat Gallery, The Sanctuarium, and Amplify Arts Generator Space. Joelle was a 2022 Amplify Arts Alternate Currents Working Group member and a 2023 Amplify Arts Generator Grant Recipient.
Support from
Kay and Jim Horwath
The Douglas County Visitor Improvement Fund
The Jewish Community Center
Esther Katz
Salvation Army
Julie Bowes | Tulle Dresses
Nick Holden | Sound Design