The inspiration for We Are Made of Stars came from this quote by the beloved astronomer Carl Sagan:

 

“Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return; and we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."

 

This idea resonates with me because it speaks to both the divine and the temporal. Like the cycles of galaxies and solar systems, the dancers' simple movements accrue over time into more dense complicated interactions, then fade out, then begin again. Mirrors on the stage evoke an alternate universe and reference the self with their reflection of the dancers and sometimes the audience. The lights that shine on the dancers mimic the light of a sun passing though the void of space, sculpting and illuminating the forms that fall in their path, periodically dimming or moving from the stage to the audience, obscuring the movement from the audience and also sometimes shining on the audience themselves.

 

The combined effect is intended to draw the audience into a stage of awe.

 

Dancers: Kaycee Jannino, Ashley Kohler Reynolds, and Nikki Pfeiffer.

Music: Warm Clicked Fruit by White Rainbow