The
PLANTS
Project
Description
Boston Dance Theater's 'PLANTS Project' is the next phase of Jessie Jeanne Stinnett's environmentally-focused work, and was born from the artistic partnership between BDT Founder/Co-Artistic Director Jessie Jeanne Stinnett and Gloucester based visual/sculptural artist, Kim Radochia.
Inspired by Kim’s portfolio, Jessie took a deep dive into 15+ books on plant emergence, and focused her research on wetlands. She absorbed scientific and Indigenous perspectives, bringing lessons she learned from plants in wetland zones into embodied and creative practices with the dance artists of BDT.
As of November 2024, the 'PLANTS Project' contains two original movement works, in collaboration with Kim Radochia:
'Unfurling' and 'Interwoven'
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'Unfurling'
In collaboration with Gloucester based visual artist, Kim Radochia, BDT’s Founder/Co-Artistic Director, Jessie Jeanne Stinnett created ‘Unfurling’ - a direct response to the inner-workings of meadow systems, brought to life with sculptural works created by Kim Radochia, in which the dance artists of Boston Dance Theater interact with over the course of a 25 minute movement score. 'Unfurling' is improvisational in nature, and connects lessons Stinnett learned from plants through though extensive research on plant emergence with embodied and creative practices with the dance artists of BDT. As an iterative, adaptive, and emergent dance work, ‘Unfurling’ unfolds in relation to the site, the present moment, each other, and those who witness it. Because of this, it will look and feel different each time it is performed.
This work was first shared with a small audience at Movement Arts Gloucester MA in March, 2024, and again at the Greenbelt Studio Barn as part of 'Trails & Sails' in September 2024.
Take a look inside the creative process of 'Unfurling'
Film by Taylor Hutchison
View the official trailer from the premiere of 'Unfurling' at MAGMA in March 2024
'Interwoven'
Following the premiere of 'Unfurling', Jessie then a grant from Manship Artists Residency and Artists for the Great Marsh, which provided her and the team with the much needed time and space to focus on the continuation of 'The PLANTS Project'. During the week at Manship, the artists of BDT spent every day at Kim Radochia's property to research the Great Marsh and explore the possibilities of movement generation in response to this research.
The week concluded with a showing of the new, interdisciplinary work-in-progress, titled 'Interwoven'
Both of these interdisciplinary works were created to be experienced in-the-round and include conversation between artists and audience, as well as other participation elements. The works are adaptable to many different spaces, including: art galleries, outdoor and in-the-air barns and venues, performance halls, classrooms, and more.
Take a look inside our week at Manship for the creation of 'Interwoven'
Film by Taylor Hutchison
View the official trailer from the premiere of 'Unfurling' at MAGMA in March 2024
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