Rebis Presents Free Dance Performance THOSE BEFORE US

 

NYC-based artist collective Rebis presents Those Before Us, an audio immersive dance experience on Governors Island, which will be FREE TO THE PUBLIC for the first two weekends in August (8/2/19-8/11/19).

In today's day and age, we face a problem. Most of us don't know the history of the world we inhabit. This history lives all around us -- in the walls of churches, in historic battlefields, around the corner from your apartment building -- everything you see has a story behind it... and yet you have no way to hear it, no way to experience it in the present.

Those Before Us is a new home for the history hidden all around you. It is a time machine that brings history to life through sound and storytelling.

Designed for public spaces, Those Before Us allows audience participants to be guided around historic locations through audio-narration. Scan strategically placed QR cards with your mobile device while wearing your own headphones or reserve Bose AR sound glasses (limited to availability) for a more autonomous sound experience and explore these narratives as they shed light on events in history that actually took place or could have existed, in each specific location. Participants encounter dancers who embody these memories in and around each location, bringing the experience to life as it is being told. The audience will have the agency to switch between distinct narratives across different time periods, exploring countless combinations of dancers, locations, and narratives.

“I have always been infatuated with the intimate experience of podcasts. Now we are able to experience pod-plays, that bring this intimacy into the real world through a theatrical experience for one,” says Rebis Co-Founder and Director of Those Before Us, Jesse Carrey. “Through Those Before Us, I felt that there was a unique opportunity to not just enhance our imagination with the rich history that lives right beneath our feet, but to also add dance to this new medium to bring Pod-Plays one step further into Pod-Performances. Dance is my first love because it is a universal language, and can communicate and penetrate far beyond words. Like interpreting clouds, each audience member will be listening to different stories while watching the same dance, creating their own meaning and connections. I want the audience to leave this experience not only with a newfound curiosity of the spaces we unconsciously inhabit, but with an understanding that our stories, while disparate, are all connected. That is the beauty of theater, dance, of art in any expression, and Those Before Us takes that out of a cold, dark theater and into the world we inhabit.”

The goal of Those Before Us is to create a deeper connection to the history of public spaces through immersive first-person narratives made possible through partnerships, sponsorships, and donations (visit the active Kickstarter Campaign here!), and is presented as free public programming in partnership with the public space for which it is being created.

These audio-immersive journeys will give the public access to information and education formerly reserved for a privileged few, while restoring honor to narratives which have been historically exploited, erased or hidden. For Those Before Us: Nolan Park, Rebis is working with American Indian Community House (who are also in residency on Governors Island this summer), to advise and inform the creative process, so that the team is truthfully and intentionally honoring the history of the island in the stories that are brought to life.

This pilot partnership with Governors Island will serve as a model for partnerships with historic and public spaces around the country.

"If we do not know history, we are bound to repeat it, for better or more often, for worse," states Rebis Co-Founder, Katya Stepanov. "New findings in neuroscience have proven that we remember the things we experience on a much deeper psychological level than what we read, because an experience is physical rather than intellectual, and physical experiences are stored in our long-term rather than short-term memory. I believe that Those Before Us provides a unique opportunity to historic spaces and cultural institutions by giving a physical life to their history for anyone to experience. Through live performance, these spaces would be able to reach a new, inter-generational audience as well as build community and relationships between these organizations and the artists who are local or relevant to each historic location. Ultimately, our goal is to reignite a collective interest in history through immersive storytelling and spark conversations surrounding events in history."

Rebis is an ancient symbol representing the creative union of opposites. Technology is a tool to deepen our connection to the real world, and yet it can feel more isolating the way it currently functions. As storytellers and champions of real life human connection, Rebis aims to understand how technology and theatrical storytelling can work together to build a stronger community, awareness, and a collective connection to humanity.

Creative team includes Daan Bootsma (Dancer), Stephen Carrey-Chan (Writer), Jesse Carrey (Writer), Kimberly Dodson (Writer), Mallory Galarza (Dancer), Ashton Muniz (Dancer), Alex Spieth (Writer), Katya Stepanov (Writer).

Production team includes Jesse Carrey (Director, Producer); Katya Stepanov (Lead Experience Designer); Alex Ryaboy (Sound Design); Becca Barrett (Producer); Queenie Wu (Brand Designer, Experience Designer); Rebis (Executive Production); Toro Communications / Toro Adeyemi, PR Director.

Those Before Us' 4-show limited engagement on Governor's Island begins Friday August 2 and continues through Sunday August 11th (with August 4th and August 12th as rain dates). Tickets are free and can be reserved online via Eventbrite.