Marcia P. Hoffman School and projectALCHEMY to Present ABOVE/BELOW at Murray Theatre

projectALCHEMY, the St. Petersburg–based nonprofit dance+ company, will present Above/Below, an immersive contemporary dance and visual art experience created in collaboration with resident artist Joey Clay, photographer and filmmaker.

Performances will take place on Friday, March 27 – Saturday, March 28 in the Murray Theatre at Ruth Eckerd Hall. This immersive dance and photography experience is presented in partnership with the Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Tickets are on sale now.  

More than a traditional dance performance, Above/Below transforms the theatre into a living gallery where photography, embodiment, and movement intersect. Audience members are invited to arrive early and remain after the performance to explore a curated exhibition of seven photographic works by Clay, each developed through the company's movement research and embodiment practice. The photographs will be available for viewing before and after the performance, with selected works available for purchase.  

Inspired by the embodiment of tarot and the psychological process of shadow work, Above/Below follows dancers as seekers navigating the confrontation and integration of the shadow self. The work draws from Major Arcana tarot cards that appeared through Artistic Director Alexander Jones's personal shadow work practice over the past year. These cards—Wheel of Fortune, The Devil, The Tower, The Moon, The Hermit, The Hanged Man, and Death—guide the performance's emotional arc, embodying cycles of upheaval, illusion, reflection, surrender, and transformation.  

Through movement, light, and shadow, the dancers navigate moments of rupture and renewal, exploring what it means to become more whole by embracing the hidden parts of ourselves.  

For this production, the Murray Studio Theatre will be transformed into an intimate, immersive performance environment. Audiences are encouraged to sit on the floor, take a chair, or stand, allowing them to experience the work from multiple perspectives as dancers move throughout the space. This flexible environment dissolves the traditional boundary between performer and viewer, inviting audiences into a shared landscape of vulnerability, reflection, and transformation. 

At the heart of the project is the collaboration between movement and visual storytelling. Joey Clay's photography captures moments born from the company's embodiment practice, translating physical research into visual artifacts that exist both within and beyond the stage experience. During the performance, the dancers bring these images into motion, allowing the audience to witness the dialogue between still image and living body. 

Joey Clay is a St. Petersburg–based cinematographer and director of photography whose work spans more than two decades of visual storytelling across film, television, and commercial media. His work has taken him around the world collaborating with artists and brands including Julian Marley, Vivica A. Fox, Giuliana Rancic, Publix, HSN, and Checkers & Rally's. Clay's artistic approach emphasizes authenticity, human connection, and the emotional power of visual narrative.  

projectALCHEMY is a nonprofit international dance+ company based in St. Petersburg, Florida, dedicated to engaging the dance community and local audiences through immersive interdisciplinary performance, affordable movement classes, and dance artist development opportunities. Through intentional collaboration, the organization works to create a thriving dance ecosystem where artists and audiences can experience meaningful artistic exchange.  

With Above/Below, projectALCHEMY invites audiences into a multidimensional artistic experience that exists between performance, gallery, and ritual—where still images breathe, shadows speak, and the body becomes a vessel for transformation.