The Click
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    • My Guide To Feeling It All | Angelina Benitez
    • Edge of Aquarius | Alexandria Nunweiler
    • Emotive Land | Lonnie Stanton
    • MAKE LIGHT | Kristin Wagner
    • REFRACT/REFRAME: Reflections on Loss, Love and Light
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MAKE LIGHT:
OR HOW I SURVIVED IT ALL
​Kristin Wagner

Picture
Make Light: or how I survived it all is a reflection on seemingly meaningless beauty. Pulling from lesser known Darwinian theories of evolution - that argue aesthetics as inherent to survival - movement vocabulary, ranging from tender and subtle to luscious and sweeping, offers expressions of joy whose meaning exists only in the beauty of its presentation.

The common belief of Darwinian Evolutionary Theory is that the reason for the existence of a particular trait or behavior is strictly for survival. However, Darwin once remarked that “stripes and marks and ornamental appendages have all been indirectly gained through the influence of love” - raising the theory that evolution may be expressed as an appreciation of the beautiful, through the exertion of a choice.

We need only look at the elaborate courtship rituals of many of Earth's species to see this theory in action: fish who attract with colorful scales, whales that woo through song, birds that charm through dance. Each of these "performances" sustains the species due to the simple fact of beauty being both displayed and appreciated. In this way, there is no such thing as meaningless beauty. Something can be meaningful simply for the fact that it is beautiful.

Inspired in part by both physical and metaphorical windows into human existence, the choreography extends beyond Darwin's pondering and considers how witnessing beauty and experiencing joy ensure our resilience as a species during periods of great challenge.


Experience ​Make Light

Excerpts of Make Light, formerly titled Survival Aesthetics, were shared in the February 2022 production of Dance Now Boston, presented at The Dance Complex Julie Ince Thompson Theatre (Central Square, Cambridge), and in the May 2022 production of CURE8 Cambridge, presented at Complex at Canal (Kendall Square, Cambridge). The full premiere will debut in Refract/Reframe: An Evening of Love, Loss, and Light December 2-4, 2022 at The Foundry in Cambridge. Tickets are on sale now!

Funding Acknowledgements

Make Light: or how I survived it all is made possible in part by grants and residencies received from: Boston Moving Arts Productions, The Dance Complex BLOOM Residency Program, the New England Foundation for the Arts’ New England Dance Fund, with generous support from the Aliad Fund at the Boston Foundation, and the Boston Opportunity Fund, administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and the City of Boston. Additional resources and support provided to The Click by The Cambridge Foundry.
Make Light is currently in process with Gabriela Amy-Moreno, Angelina Benitez, Katrina Conte, Rachel Linsky, Audrey MacLean, and Alexandria Nunweiler.
Additional contributors include: Leah Abbott, Olivia Blaisdell, Flora Kim, and Frederick Moss.
Photo by Gabriel Rizzo/Golden Lion Photography.
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Please note our finances are controlled under the umbrella "Bodies Moving," a fiscally-sponsored project of the Boston Dance Alliance. Donations made through this portal are tax deductible.
The Click creates and performs primarily on land presently known as Wilmington, Sudbury, Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston, Massachusetts. We acknowledge that these lands are the original home of the Pawtucket, Massachusett, and Nipmuc tribal nations. This land acknowledgement is a formal statement to honor, respect, recognize, and pay homage to these original stewards of these lands and their enduring relationship with the territories on which we dance today. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide, violent removal, and forceful relocation as we honor and respect the many diverse Indiginous Peoples who remain connected to this and all land in our country. We urge our audiences to take the time to educate themselves on the communities that are indigenous to the land they live and work on. We encourage all our partners to continuously learn how they may contribute to protecting and supporting indigenous peoples and practices.
The primary photographs contained on this website were taken by David Orr of Boston Moving Arts Productions, Olivia Moon Photography/@halfasianlens, and Gabriel Rizzo/Golden Lion Photography.
​For a detailed list of photographs and corresponding credits, please contact us.
​Website Designed by Kristin Wagner, Powered by Weebly, with Assistance from James Peerless ©2022
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Our Values
    • Our Collaborators
    • Contact
  • Projects
    • My Guide To Feeling It All | Angelina Benitez
    • Edge of Aquarius | Alexandria Nunweiler
    • Emotive Land | Lonnie Stanton
    • MAKE LIGHT | Kristin Wagner
    • REFRACT/REFRAME: Reflections on Loss, Love and Light
    • Project Funding
  • Education
    • MINI CLINICS AT WDA
  • Upcoming Events