Preview: Kimberly Baker presents "Earth Below Us" at Ruth Page Center

Northern Lights made a rare appearance last October in Chicago, drawing major attention to our night skies. Urban light pollution typically limits the experience of celestial phenomena in the city, but independent choreographer Kimberly Baker has always been curious about the cosmos and how it might connect to dance. As Chicago witnessed the Aurora Borealis, Baker initiated a deep dive into the wonder of outer space in preparation for the “Earth Below Us” concert March 14 &15 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts.

The spark for Baker's space-inspired evening-length grouping of dances ignited when her six-year-old daughter expressed an interest in becoming an astronaut. “It was the first time she ever said she wanted to be something when she grew up. It made me want to help her learn more about it and bring it to her in an exciting way,” she says. The wealth of information that Baker found when starting research led her to conjure up ideas for a new dance. “I'm a dance educator and, for me, using art and dance is the most fun way to explore something,” she says. “And in that way, I can share it with my daughter as well as others.”

Employing a smooth yet technical modern/contemporary style, “Earth Below Us” blends history, science and wonder into a 90-minute concert premiere appropriate for all ages. Baker's main drive is that she wants the audience to learn something new. “I want people to feel like they are being creatively stimulated,” she says. “I hope this concert feels like going to a museum.”

"Earth Below Us," with Jessica Kick and Shanae Sterba; Photo by Kimberly Baker

Montana-based Joshua Loveland composed and recorded an original music score specifically for “Earth Below Us.” Working with Loveland long distance, Baker began with phone conversations about sections of the piece, describing her starting point (anything from shooting stars to alien life) and brainstorming soundscapes together. “He'd send the music first, or sometimes I'd show him some of the movement and we'd continue to develop it from there,” says Baker. Known for his electronic sound/environment fusions, Loveland's compositions aim to reflect the nuance and mystery of the cosmos as it relates to Baker's concepts.

Operating as an independent enterprise posed a challenge for Baker to realize her ambitious vision, so she opted out of performing and instead focused on creating the choreography and the additional elements that surround the performance.

Baker compiled and edited 1-minute videos to introduce each of 14 sections of dance. For each clip she gathered a scientific or historical detail to help weave the dances together and lean into the educational component. Additionally, patrons can expect to walk among the planets before they even enter the theatre. Baker will install a handmade representation of the solar system along with photos and written information in the inner lobby of the performance space. “I want it to be an immersive experience,” she says, “like you are somewhere else. So, when you walk into the interior lobby, it's like the piece is starting already.”

In the first half of the concert, Baker tackles the human experience of space from our earthly perspective. The show opener pays homage to the women who worked for NASA in the 1930s—the mathematicians who were instrumental in the development of space flight. Moving through the segments, each dance takes cues from a different aspect of the night skies including choreographic responses to the history of space exploration, eclipses, the moon and the Milky Way.

"Clare's Flight," with Clare Harper; Photo by Michelle Reid

“In Act two, we look at things that can only be experienced in space,” Baker says. Starting with space flight, the work takes a journey to the moon, explores the constellations and dives into a Black Hole. Baker is particularly excited about the second half of the show. “[Creating] it was very collaborative,” she says. “Especially the piece called “Clare's Flight.” In the making, Baker pondered if and how it would be possible to represent the idea of the zero-gravity experienced in space flight. Landing upon the idea to have dancer Clare Harper traverse from one side of the stage to the other without touching the ground, Baker devised the illusion of Harper floating while supported by “invisible” dancers.

Developing the section entitled “Blackhole” represented a process completely new to Baker. “I wrote out choreography that I had made first and then read those words back to the dancers in rehearsal,” she says. By asking the dancers to respond without seeing any movement, they created movement phrases in response to simply listening to words. For Baker, this took things in an exciting direction beyond what she could have concocted on her own.

The ten hand-picked dancers (Harper, Jacquelyn Tse, Stephanie Anderson, Hannah Bailey, Stefany Cotton, Bryan Hurd, Jessica Kick, Nic Steffensen, Shanae Sterba and Stephanie Rankin) come together in a final interactive piece of the show. Entitled “Stardust," this closing section refers to the scientific notion that the DNA in humans is made of the elements carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, which comes from the stars. “There really are things that connect us to the universe,” says Baker. “The night sky is so far away that there's a disconnect. I want to bring that closer.”

“Earth Below Us” is presented by Kimberly Baker thru March 14-15 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Showtimes are 7pm. Tickets are $25, available by calling 765-860-6857 or clicking the artist link below.