The Courtyard Commission: Dispersion

Performance engages architecture in an Islamic garden with Scheherazaad Cooper, Kiran Bhumber and Nancy Lee

By Scheherazaad Cooper, Kiran Bhumber and Nancy Lee

Creative Team

Director & Visual Artist – Nancy Lee
Visual & Installation Artist – Laine Butler
Music Composition & Clarinet Performance – Kiran Bhumber
Choreography – Ralph Escamillan
Dance Performance – Sophia Wolfe & Alex Tam

Dispersion is a site-specific audio-visual dance performance featuring dancers Sophia Wolfe and Alex Tam, choreographed by Ralph Escamillian, visual projections by Nancy Lee and Laine Butler and musical composition and clarinet performance by Kiran Bhumber.

Curatorial Statement – The Courtyard Commission: DispersionBy Scheherazaad Cooper

The Courtyard Commission emerged from a desire to re-imagine and re-envision the potential of the beautiful courtyard space at the Ismaili Centre, Burnaby. What happens when a group of innovative artists are brought into an inspiring space? What will they see, and what will it inspire them to create? How will a courtyard whose design draws from the traditions of Islamic gardens— built initially for an immigrant community developing roots in Canada—speak to others who may not have direct access to the significance the space holds for a particular community?

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Reflections by Kiran Bhumber & Nancy LeeBy Kiran Bhumber and Nancy Lee
The Ismaili Centre's marble exterior inspired us (Laine Butler & I) to develop visuals to project on to the building using paint. We video recorded the microscopic process of paint marbling on a small canvas using a 90mm marcroscopic lens. Kiran Bhumber composed the music inspired by our visuals. Ralph Escamillan choreographed movement with Sophia Wolfe and Alex Tam inspired by the ritual of garment wearing practices and the space in the courtyard.
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Kiran Bhumber is a media artist, composer, musician and educator based in Vancouver, Canada. Kiran constructs interactive installations and performance systems that allow performers and audiences to engage with themes relating to cultural memory, embodiment and nostalgia.

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Scheherazaad Cooper is an accomplished Canadian performer and choreographer, drawing from nearly thirty years as an Odissi classical Indian dancer, as well as a background in theatre, in her contemporary work.

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Nancy Lee is an interdisciplinary media artist, filmmaker and electronic music curator. Her work stimulates and enlivens space, making a provocative statement about how inescapably interconnected we are with our surroundings.

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