Pilobolus in a new show Shadowland 2

 Pilobolus opens the 2017-2018 season of the Herzliya Performing Art Center with a new spectacular show “Shadowland 2”. The show is a grandiose adventure of science fiction, drama and comedy.
Pilobolus - photo Kai Heimberg
Pilobolus - photo Kai Heimberg
Pilobolus - photo by Kai Heimberg

Shadowland 2 is an audio-visual show. It uses shades from light projections over the body of the dancers to tell the story. A crazy adventure with nine dancers and a framework that changes constantly behind scenes, with rackets, the Eiffel tower, cars, chairs, and a legendary animal that looks like an ostrich.

The heart of Shadowland is the capturing and caging of animals to be imported for amusement of people. A couple falls for an ostrich-like young animal and fights to save it and take it back to its habitat and to its flock.

Pilobolus - photo Kai Heimberg
Pilobolus - photo Kai Heimberg
Pilobolus - photo by Kai Heimberg

One very unique scene is when the couple is putting their hands into the box to touch and pet the little animal. The scene is split into two, one showing the couple and the box, and the other showing the projection of the inside of the box, in a coordinated play, the audience sees what happens inside and outside the box. This is very charming!

Shadowland includes drama, romance, erotics, protest and even sexual harassment, all with a dance and a happy end. It is an outcry where the band protests over some of the illnesses of society, but with an optimistic outlook.

Pilobolus was founded in 1971 by a group of students from Dartmouth College. It is known for provoking gravity and the expertise of the band’s dancers in all the dancing disciplines (modern, classic). It also exhibits athletics and acrobatics and the breaking of barriers between disciplines by using the dancers’ body in new ways. The band created and distributed more than 120 repertoires in over 65 countries.

Shadowland was launched in 2016 and is now on tour. The show will perform in Herzliya between 13-18.11.2017.

The writer was a guest of the show.