This weekend I had the opportunity to see a friend of mine perform with Catapult Dance Company, a former finalist group on America's Got Talent, as a part of their 2021 National Tour. The company's gimmick is that the entire performance is performed behind a screen, behind which a single light source is used to create an array of optical illusions through silhouette and shadow. During this performance I was blown away by the creativity and ingenuity of the designers and dancers.
The audience sees the performance as one two-dimensional image, while in reality the dancers position themselves at different distance from the light source, so they appear large or smaller, and the silhouettes blend together to make a complete different image projected on the screen. I was able to watch the second half of the performance from backstage and it was truly amazing to see how this is accomplished. If you look closely at the first two pictures in this blog, you can see the backstage set-up and the amount of spike tape, monitors, and detail go into making this happen. Although some props are used during the performance, the majority of the images are created through manipulation of the light source and reimagination of the form and shape of the human body.
Talk about innovation and imagination when it comes to lighting!
This is a wonderful idea - I have only used this in puppetry or single moments on stage - would love to see this performance. Nice post and great study in single source.
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