BANDALOOP’s LOOM:FIELD will be unveiled to the public with free outdoor shows 8 pm, Friday, April 15, and 5 pm & 8 pm, Saturday April 16, 2022. Coinciding with BANDALOOP’s 30th anniversary celebration, these shows will transform the side of the Breuner Buildingin uptown Oakland into a breathtaking giant loom where stories and dance interlace, exploring the textile industry and its effects on our planet. The street below will be closed to traffic, offering seated and picnic viewing areas, and guests are invited to bring blankets and camping chairs to enjoy the performances.
The 5 pm family-friendly performance of LOOM:FIELD on Saturday, April 16, will offer an audio description provided by Gravity Access Services, made possible by a generous grant from the Ford Foundation. ASL will also be provided. A Haptic Access Tour will begin at 4 pm—please call 760-957-5564 to pre-register and reserve a headset.
LOOM:FIELD is the centerpiece of BANDALOOP’s LOOM trilogy, a multi-year initiative bringing together a collective of performing artists, climate scientists, regenerative textile artists, a visual technologist, and creative riggers to create performances that deepen and challenge perspectives on the art and industry of textiles.
A 45-minute vertical dance performance set to original live music that fuses intricate choreography and climbing technology, LOOM:FIELD offers a narrative of ancestral weaving stories and techniques, the ecological and social impacts of a globalized textile industry, and the influence of technology. Although this industry is one of the largest polluters in the world, the impact of clothing and fashion is often overlooked in modern consumer lifestyles.
Fraught with devastating globalized labor and farming practices, the fallout of textile consumption will be dealt with for generations to come. LOOM:FIELD juxtaposes this large-scale ecological crisis with the timeless power of fabric to hold, comfort, adorn, and sanctify across cultures.
The choreography for LOOM:FIELD was developed by BANDALOOP Artistic Director Melecio Estrella and the company’s dancers. Collaborators for the production include ninth-generation Nigerian weaver and costume designer IB Bayo, theater artist Chibueze Crouch, composer Ben Juodvalkis, and lighting designer Jim French. The result of this multi-layered collaboration is an evening of dance theater featuring spoken word, vertical dance, fabric manipulation, film segments, and original music.
After its hometown premiere in Oakland, LOOM:FIELD will tour nationally through the spring of 2023.
For more information, visit https://www.bandaloop.org/loom
Published on April 7, 2022
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