Somnambulists

June 2024

Leister’s Somnambulists move through moments of restlessness, sleeplessness and anxiety. The gestures reference the body’s various phases of unrest due to our chaotic world. Many of us struggle with angst stemming from our post-pandemic realities, on-going threats to democracy, gun violence, attacks on the LGBTQ and trans communities and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. How can we shake off the world and rest deeply? The number of hours and quality of our sleep has diminished over the years.  Continual interaction with our devices and 24/7 access to news, social media, shopping, etc. is a major cause for this shift causing a near perpetual disruption to being. Somnambulists presents three dancers who progress through movements of relief and readiness. Their larger-than-life bodies cycle through textured sleep states  - rest, dream and insomnia, inside shades of blue, bathing Denver in a drowsy fog.Perhaps someone gazing up at these monumental forms might recognize their own bodily gestures reflected in the choreographed moments of agitation and surrender.

Featuring:

Choreographer: Samantha Mohr

Dancers: Samantha Mohr Joan Fricke & Shauna Davis

https://www.denvertheatredistrict.com/artists/elizabeth-leister