AUSTIN, Texas — Some people look at a building and see a building. Others see a stage.
Sally Jacques, the artistic director at Blue Lapis Light, an Austin-based aerial dance company, saw potential in a parking garage at Seaholm Plaza. Starting Wednesday, the company will be putting on a show.
"We have this piece with five aerialists that jump out of the windows," Jacques said. "And then we have 10 ensemble dancers on the ground."
The dancers will be jumping out of the parking garage above True Food and swinging from the Seaholm Power Plant stacks. While the flying dancers might seem exciting, the most striking part of the "Belonging" performance is the message they hope to get across.
"It's a story about our relationship to the environment, our connection to the environment and our interconnection with the environment," Jacques said.
Jacques said humans are hurting the planet.
"We are actually destroying our own food supplies, water supplies, oxygen," she said. "Everybody knows we are in a crisis on the environment now."
The performance will also touch on the war in Ukraine and what went on in Syria.
"I believe that if enough of us reached a collective mass, we can shift this paradigm," Jacques said. "We all need to keep doing more, and we don't [need to] keep choosing violence. You know, I've been told that's naïve. I don't believe that. I believe we can transform consciousness and really shift this paradigm to one of compassion in our world."
"Belonging" will run from Wednesday, Sept. 14, to Sunday, Sept. 18, and Wednesday, Sept. 21, to Saturday, Sept. 24. The performances start at 8:15 p.m.
Tickets are available in advance online and at the plaza on show nights.
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