JCTC | D.I.S.P.L.A.Y.E.D by Heidi Latsky

Jersey City Theatre Center presents

D.I.S.P.L.A.Y.E.D reflects this commitment in the form of a fantastical, slightly off kilter, living work of art that the audience moves through and interacts with. It’s captivating, riveting, fun, hypnotic, and beautiful. It’s Cirque du Soleil, PT Barnum voyeurism that’s socially relevant and edifying. Designed to move audience members from discomfort to comfort, it celebrates the unexpected. It’s accessible – all audience members can not only walk or roll through the exhibit, but can access our app that features audio-description for the blind and visually impaired community. It’s current – utilizing cutting edge technology to not dehumanize, but enhance the intimacy between the viewer and the viewed.

D.I.S.P.L.A.Y.E.D recreates an art exhibit where the art is live. With glasses of wine
or sparkling water, audiences will wander through “galleries” of isolated sculptures and then directed to walk through the main sculpture court. On the periphery, will be a roped off space with Augmented Reality (AR) goggles, surrounding. Through the goggles audiences will be able to view a 3D volumetric video (hologram) of athlete Jennifer Bricker Bauer audaciously pressing into a handstand that transforms into a suspended backbend on a white pedestal. The visual metaphor of this AR experience reflects the process of remedying societal invisibility with agency. The roped boundary and the need to use viewing goggles makes the act of looking at unique bodies – so often done surreptitiously in real life – a conscious one – which is simultaneously private and public.

The arc of D.I.S.P.L.A.Y.E.D features 17 sculptures and lasts 45 minutes, showing the performers first as artifacts; then as isolated frenetic movers fixed on their spots; and finally as a community of soloists dancing dynamically through the space. Audiences are encouraged at any point to become their own sculpture at designated areas in the venue.

When dancers return to stillness at the end, the audience is invited to amble through the gallery again, but this time with an enhanced intimate experience using Audio Augmented Reality technology developed in partnership with Google’s Creative Lab. The beginning and the end of D.I.S.P.L.A.Y.E.D are open-ended, so that the audience can take in the work at their leisure. Sculptures will be positioned throughout at different locations on different nights, making it an experience you could return to the again and again.

We’ve always been taught not to stare; not to look at others deeply because it might offend them; that if someone “different” catches our eye we’ve objectified that person. This is the life of the viewer. Alternatively, should we possess a dramatically visible birthmark, a glorious height, unusual arms, torso or unknown disability, we risk being too noticeable and often ostracized, or worse. This is the life of the viewed. In both situations, there are harsh limitations: the viewer does not have the time to see beyond mere appearances and the viewed is not seen as anything but “other”. Can a dynamic space in which both really look and experience each other exist and promote empathy, interest, and curiosity through virtuoso performance?

Heidi Latsky Dance (HLD) is dedicated to answering this question with a company that employs the largest number of performers with disabilities in the dance
field. We are internationally recognized for our commitment to inclusion, artistry, professionalism and a high standard of excellence.