natural selection
NOVEMBER 2021
Gaertner Performing Arts Center
Directors/Choreographers: Alethea + Adele
Costumes: Barry Doss
Sound design: Alethea Alexander
Sounds: recordings of trap jaw ants, human group vocal improvisations, "Drone" (Laurie Anderson), human breath
Dancers/Collaborators: Sarabeth Armstrong, Justin Curry, Erika Doyle, Keeley Dunnam, Amy Fitzsimmons, Heather Hardy, J Obregon, Katelyn Perez, Abigail Schafer
Natural Selection is inspired by the eusocial structures of ant colonies, and uses recordings of ant sounds in the opening soundscore. In eusocial societies, ants practice altruism and cooperation, deferring individual “fitness” and dominance in favor of group survival and the success of the colony. We additionally have raw footage for a site-specific dance film version of this work, to be edited in 2022. Dancer/collaborators are undergraduate and graduate students at Sam Houston State University.
Photos: Kazai Drew
