Meet 2016 QAF Awardee Long Island City Ballet

Obvious Darkness is a multi-media dance theatre project created by Laura Ward/Octavia Cup Dance Theatre and Long Island City Ballet. This project focuses on collaborative work with the professional dancers of LW/OCDT and kids age 9-15 from LICB using live accompaniment. Obvious Darkness explores the fascination with our own Shadow that can be found in nursery rhymes, fairy tales and murder ballads. The music is comprised of old Appalachian folk songs that have weathered the years through oral traditions and will be played live by Elizabeth Butters and Artie Mallet. Spoken word and investigative narrative will also be involved. Professional designers will help sculpt the aesthetics of the sets and costumes. It will be performed at the Queens Theatre in the Park June 11th at 7:30 pm, 12that 1pm, 2016.

2. How do you think this project will impact the community?

We believe it is very important to give back to the community and to share the love of motion with diverse populations. We believe that in order to make positive change in the world, we need to imagine and inspire new thinking and new possibilities. Through dance performance and nurturing the development of artistic expression we help create a vital healthy community. Dance, being primarily non-verbal has the power to invite new forms of expression and interpretation to the human experience. There is a richness in physical expression that transcends class, race, gender, etc.

Developing movement choices and options has a profound affect on the way we feel and perceive and in turn how we process and respond to the world. Direct interaction, relationship building, and self-inquiry are keys to our creative approach and we think they are great keys to help others learn to negotiate this world in healthier ways. We offer these tools for life to the young dancers at LICB and in turn to the Queens community.

3. How has QCA been helpful in the grant process?

Through QCA support we are able to leverage other funders and promotions. Community support is vital to us and helps increase our exposure while building stronger networks within the area.

4. Here is your chance, what do you want everyone to know about your organization?

Laura Ward/Octavia Cup Dance Theatre aims to challenge both the dancers and the audience to delve a little deeper into their own shadows and mirrors with a sense of humor and absurdity. With an eye on current world events and with reference to the expressions of the past, the company seeks to reveal a physical perspective of the current zeitgeist. Assuming the shamanistic role of the artist we hope to shed visceral light on the realm of creative possibility. We seek to illuminate both the obvious and the hidden and raise the question: “are we okay with this? Can we dream a better dream for the future? ” Through community engagement in both performance and education we are invested in creative thinking and responsible action infused with a sense of fun and wonderment.