Created at Revelation, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial waterfall and reflecting pool
Directed by: Krista DeNio
Assistant Director: Daniel Davis
Sound design: Cory Neale
Created | Performed by: Cynthia Arellanes, Jessie Bie, Samantha Blanchard, Daniel Davis, Sonia Decker, Katarina Eriksson, Hien Hyunh, William McQueen, Susan Pfeffer, Tina Taylor, Keisha Turner, Alex Thorsen, Big John (JW)
ETS created a site-specific, dance and movement focused work, in collaboration with Revelation, the United States’ second largest Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, in the Yerba Buena Gardens. Bringing together the voices of the performers, other community members, and Dr. Martin Luther King, the piece was a meditation on how we fight for what we believe in, individually and collectively. Focusing on freedom fighters and the potential power of a united front, the piece ends with the image of all performers together in a line, arms linked–referencing the image of Dr. King and other civil rights activists during the March of 1963, as seen behind the waterfall in this great Memorial structure.
The work responded to the structure of the site itself, showcasing the architecture, powerful waterfall, images, Dr. King’s words, and included an interactive audience journey behind the waterfall, and up the ramps to the reflecting pool above. Audience participants were invited to reflect on ways that they EXPERIENCE FREEDOM and ways that they EXPERIENCE OPPRESSION. Audience were invited to share their thoughts at the microphone, as a part of the journey.
