Aera's Covered Sky

Aera's Covered Sky is one of the most creative dance performances I've seen this year: entertaining, evocative, and with plenty of surprising moments. Covered Sky is like a poem; in fact the story started with a poem:

Let go, fall in, tear away.
The moonlight mouth speaks the babble of that calling.
Float down to the bottom.
Nothing else points here.
A fire burns.
Do you like what you see?

Artistic director, Kyle McBeth and choreographers, Kyra Johannesen and Jen James Martin collaborated to create their first NYC premiere of Covered Sky, which ran from July 24 to July 28 at New York Live Arts. 

"We always start with the story," said Kyra.  "Then we add the music, choreography and other elements."

"We prefer for the audience to have their own take on the story," said Kyle. "That makes it more of a personal experience."

For me, the piece was a moody exploration of the multiple relationships in our lives, expressing the exhiliration, the doubt, and the tension between people as their knowing of each other evolves. Each member of the cast had unique strenths, and I particularly enjoyed the interplay between the male and female dancers.

Aera's overview says they aim to "expand the performance environment by creating a unique shared experience with our audience." They use fabric, pole and rope to "create a multifaceted experience of performance art." I look forward to seeing what Aera comes up with next.

Dancers Lara Michaels, Rommel Pier O'Choa, Dalijah Franklin, Elaina Royter, Alison Wardell, Joshua Dean, Tatiana DePillo, Angel Reed, Josh Taylor and Airin Dalton