The Salts
Drawing inspiration from live music experiences, The Salts is an evening length, immersive contemporary dance work examining the intimacies of a public vs. private persona with the spirit, prowess and explosive performances of iconic front(wo)men. Through movement, text, sound and direct audience engagement, this work is an exercise in engaging dance audiences outside of the typical.
Sharing the bill with local bands and guest performers in an immersive atmosphere, The Salts perform a set of high-velocity dances to distorted guitar, driving bass lines, wild vocals creating a kinetic energy - like seeing a band’s performance from the inside of the kick drum. This completed work was developed over a year+ long process, much like a band, through long -game collaboration and experimental, pop up performances at bars, nightclubs, and intimate performance spaces before premiering as an evening-length production.
Concept + choreography by Erin Kilmurray
Directed in collaboration with Molly Brennan
Created with performers
Erin Kilmurray
Josh Anderson
Katie Graves
Mikey Rioux
Sound design by Mikhail Fiksel
Lighting design by Heather SparlingSet design by John Holt + Brian Rad
Costume design by Eve Rydberg
Stage Management by Ellen Willet
The Salts premiered at The Flatiron Arts Building in 2015, produced by The Inconvenience.
“The Salts is music, dance, theater, performance art and social experiment all wrapped up in a chaotic and joyous hour of movement… Physical, earnest, diverse and inspired, The Salts is the kind of performance you’re lucky to see once a year.”
- Newcity Stages
PRESENTATIONS |
Premiere The Flatiron Arts Building; presented by The Inconvenience —- May 20 - 30, 2015
University of Chicago: Chicago Performance Labs —- August 2014
Creative Support Time WIP: Links Hall, —- December 2013
Experts performed at Berlin Nightclub, Salonathon / Beauty Bar, Chicago Artist Coalition, among others.
IN THE PRESS |
Review : The Salts / The Inconvenience - Newcity Stages
“Rooted in non-conformity… the audience serves as an integral component in some of the night’s most memorable pieces. A hypnotic solo performance accompanied by Velvet Underground and Nico’s “Femme Fatale” finds dancer Katie Graves literally embracing the audience before finally enacting that timeless, spiritual gesture of punk rock: crowd surfing”.
The Salts really know how to party - Art Intercepts; blog
“I’ve never seen dancers who were so perceived as rockstars by us, their adoring fans…”
"Listen: Vocalo Radio Interview with Kilmurray on The Salts process