Professional, pre-professional, and non-professional performers are invited to participate in Kimberly Bartosik/daela’s upcoming project, The Encounter: Providence, a physical-theater performance work. Performances will be held at the fourth annual Motion State Dance Festival, March 1–2, 2024, at Wilbury Theatre Group. Learn more about the project here.

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Workshop: 11am–1pm
(Free & open to those not intending to audition)

Audition: 2–3pm

The Encounter is an expansive performance project created by choreographer/director Kimberly Bartosik (NYC). Working with communities worldwide and merging professional, pre-professional, and non-professional performers, she has been creating unique Encounter projects, exploring intergenerational cross-geographic, global conversation about the ferocious power of the body as a form of communication. The work is an encounter with oneself, pulling from what people currently carry in their bodies—hope, fear, desire, grief, newfound power—pulsing through and between generations.

"The Encounter is exactly what its title suggests: an encounter between distinct people, and one that could only happen between these people in this place in the way that it does the specific time it happens. The Encounter is a chance made alive." —Cast member, The Encounter: Buffalo

Workshop Description

The workshop combines physical play with imaginative exploration, culling from themes, ideas, and the process of the creation of The Encounter. It begins with learning gestures which come from Rudolph Nureyev’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. These gestures are symbols of undying love as well as a radical transformation of ballet language inside a plethora of bodies with diverse histories. Following this, participants learn a rhythmic stepping sequence, using their breath and the sound of their footsteps to connect with one another. The emotional core of the workshop is the “dream sequence” where Kimberly directs participants to use their imagination to “see” a past or future dream of themselves that they have lost or aspire to be. In this moment of reconciliation with time—as we dig our lives out of the pandemics of this age—remaining connected to our deepest hopes for ourselves is life-affirming. This is true for any age, but Kimberly has found this to be especially potent for young people/teens, many of whom are experiencing a huge crisis in their sense of hope for their futures. 

Participants do not need formal dance training or performance experience but should be prepared to engage in physical and athletic activity. Participants ages 12 and up of all body types, gender identities, races, ethnicities, and abilities are welcome.

Image: The Encounter: Buffalo (2022) by Mark Duggan