Off the Wall

Two dancers swing from ropes attached to the new Pendleton West building

Photo by Kimberly Maroon

It was, by every definition of the term, a soaring performance.

For two days in October, members of Bandaloop defied gravity and danced on the outside walls of the new Pendleton West music pavilion, in celebration of the public opening of the renovated arts building. Secured by rigging to the roof, the California troupe mesmerized audiences as they walked the walls, pushing off to spin and soar in intricate choreography.

The festivities also included a theater performance, lectures, and the world premiere of !hope, a setting of an e.e. cummings poem by Grammy-award-winning composer Augusta Read Thomas commissioned for the Wellesley College Chamber Singers.

“I could not get enough of the Bandaloop performances,” says Helen Gregory ’90, one of several College employees who attended a workshop with the dancers. “My participation in the workshop made me particularly attuned to the athleticism of the performers. It is spectacular to watch them move so beautifully and gracefully, and at the same time I kept reminding myself how very, very difficult it is to do what they do … holding themselves up sideways, and making it appear as though they are standing/dancing upright.”

You Might Like
  • Photo of David Teng Olsen's mural  in the windows of the Davis courtyard.
    David Teng Olsen, associate professor of art at Wellesley, was tapped to create the first of a series of installations in the Davis Museum courtyard.More
  • Photo of monks assembling a mandala out of sand in the Davis Museum.
    A hush pervaded one of the Davis Museum galleries as two Tibetan monks slowly etched a sand mandala pattern onto a blue cloth ground. The only sound in the room was the scritch-scritch of the...More
  • Marta Rainer '98 sits in a bathtub on stage surrounded by books as part of her one-woman show
    Actress and lecturer in theatre studies Marta Rainer’s advice on pursuing a life in theatre: “Read a lot. Keep filling your cup with things that inspire you. And try to show up for things, because sometimes the hardest thing is walking in the room and being present to the people that you want to play with.”More

Post a CommentView Full Policy

We ask that those who engage in Wellesley magazine's online community act with honesty, integrity, and respect. (Remember the honor code, alums?) We reserve the right to remove comments by impersonators or comments that are not civil and relevant to the subject at hand. By posting here, you are permitting Wellesley magazine to edit and republish your comment in all media. Please remember that all posts are public.

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.