Art Worlds Collide Beautifully in "Bamboo Wind"

When different art forms combine, powerful and amazing things can happen. This is the theory behind Bamboo Wind, a performance that combines a unique combination of dance, poetry, sculpture, and photography. With Coke Ariail as the writer and sculptor and ShaLeigh Comerford as the artistic director, this production/exhibition is a breath of fresh air to the Durham arts scene.

Being held at The Fruit, an expansive warehouse space turned venue in downtown Durham, this installation-piece invites visitors to browse at their leisure. Before the performance takes place, they can meander through the exotic bamboo forest that has been created within the warehouse. They can also read the seven-canto poem, painted on black tarp, piece by piece, as they wander. Photographs and sculptures are also part of the exhibit, and each piece is available for purchase.

The evening doesn’t end just with the exhibit, however. Instead, viewers are then treated to a dance performance that brings the poem, Bamboo Wind, to full and gorgeous life. Beautifully danced and featuring choreography and movement so smooth as to be almost primal, this performance is sensual, engaging, and breathtakingly beautiful.

What’s more is that the dancers featured in the piece, which include leads Majid Bastani and Megan Rindoks, are of all ages, genders, and body types, making this piece as diverse as it is lovely. Dorothy Brown and Michael Foley, who serve as narrators of a sort for the work, add to the enchantment of the evening and gently guide viewers through the tough, personal questions intrinsically raised by the piece.

A joint production of Ariail Images and ShaLeigh Dance Works and a new venture in a variety of ways, Bamboo Wind is hopefully the start of more multifaceted, multimedia art pieces in the Triangle area. Those hoping to see this particular exhibition have to act quickly, though. It only runs through January 20th. Tickets can be purchased here.