BWW Reviews: Blue Lapis Light's HEAVEN-EARTH-ONE is Heaven on Earth

Related: Blue Lapis Light, Heaven-Earth-One

BWW-Reviews-HEAVEN-EARTH-ONE-is-Heaven-on-Earth-20010101

I’m a cynic. Always have been, and probably always will be. When a cynic like yours truly is invited to a dance performance by a company whose mission is to provide “prayers for the planet,” I immediately expect the worst.

In the case of Blue Lapis Light’s HEAVEN-EARTH-ONE, I could not be more wrong. This is by far the most stunningly beautiful piece of theater, dance, and art that I’ve seen this season, and perhaps in my entire life.

The work, helmed by Blue Lapis Light’s Artistic Director, Sally Jacques, is a spectacular fusion of ballet, modern dance, and aerial art in which the performers strive to connect with heaven, earth, and each other. Whether or not you get that intention is irrelevant. You will be entertained nonetheless.

What makes HEAVEN-EARTH-ONE and all other Blue Lapis Light productions so unique is that it is “site specific,” meaning the entire piece is created and designed around the performance space. Here, the company uses the outdoor courtyard of the Long Center as their canvas. They convert the space into a dazzling stage involving ziplines, rigging, harnesses and silk ribbons, all hung from the Long Center roof and the suspended ring around the courtyard. What the rigging team, lead by Corey Fields and Barry Wilson, has created and installed for this show is quite remarkable and a technical marvel. The space is truly transformed, and instead of detracting from the natural aesthetics of the space, the temporary additions enhance it. The result is gorgeous. Jason Amato’s lighting design is equally impressive, especially when he plays with The Shadows of the performers, and William Meadow’s sound design remarkably keeps all of the music balanced, despite the potential problems of using both live and pre-recorded music in an outdoor space not built with acoustics in mind.

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