Sculpture and dance mix in Coupeville outdoor spectacle
StoneDance Production’s special interactive event returns to Price Sculpture Forest.
StoneDance Production’s special interactive “WANDER/WONDER: A sculptured dance happening” event is returning to The Price Sculpture Forest in Coupeville.
For its fourth year, the unique experience is set for 1 to 3 p.m. on Aug. 23.
With more than 16 acres of protected forest, which hosts 38 original sculptures, 11 professional Seattle-based dancers will create a magical experience for viewers.
This event integrates dance, music and outdoor art to create a whimsical interactive walk through nature. Wandering through the paths, community members will find new performances around the bends, as performers gracefully weave around sculptures and the audience. The dancers will be performing in a repetition, so people can experience each performance at their own pace and direction, according to Scott Price, the founder and board president of the sculpture forest.
After the performances, visitors of all ages will have the opportunity to meet the choreographer and dancers.
The dance, Price said, expands the story of every sculpture that’s already there through movement and music. He recalled his awe when he witnessed a dancer who got so into her performance that pine needles got stuck in her hair.
“It’s just a very unique way to experience both sculpture and, actually, the natural environment,” Price said. “You don’t get to experience that kind of thing very often. It melds so many things.”
The show wouldn’t be possible without Eva Stone, its choreographer and creator, who is returning for her fourth year to the dance event at Price Sculpture Forest.
Each performance is directly related to and inspired by the art and environment that surrounds them, she wrote in a press release.
“Four years ago, I found myself wandering through this incredible sculpture forest while on holiday, and as I was enjoying the magnificent art, all I could really see was how this would be an incredible space for dance,” Stone said. “I love presenting my work in places it does not traditionally live and giving viewers an opportunity to engage with dance in original and thought-provoking ways.”
Stone’s repertoire includes making choreography for the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Spectrum Dance Theater, Seattle Dance Project and more. Each year, Stone creates new material for the WANDER/WONDER event and brings in, according to Price, “national caliber dancers.”
“She creates each piece that the professional dancers perform. It’s created specifically for that sculpture in its setting, and so it responds to both the sculpture itself, the story behind the sculpture and it also responds to the natural setting,” Price said.
Overflow parking will be available across the street exclusively for the event. The experience will have a suggested donation of $20 and a pay-what-you-can sliding scale. All proceeds from the event will go towards supporting the Price Sculpture Forest.
Learn more about the event at sculptureforest.org/dance.
(Photo provided) A dancer poses next to a huddled sculpture of a person.
(Photo provided) A dancer spreads her arms, a mirror of the sculpture of the bird behind her.
(Photo provided) A dancer holds an umbrella that appears to mimic the sculpture behind her.
