Sol niger

Sol niger, a new work presented by Hennessy and company creates an intimate spectacle – alternately ridiculous and mysterious – that investigates current political realities. The performance is a poetic hybrid of aerial circus, contemporary dance, music (live music for piano, prepared piano, and electronics) and visual design that includes text, projected video, and experimental performance. Sol niger filters contemporary political realities through alchemical metaphors of darkness and light, shadow and truth. Sol niger suggests that some things are seen better in obscure light, that the truth is rarely evident in direct confrontation. With the symbolic abstraction of a quietly practicing alchemist, Sol niger addresses shifting definitions of war, torture, terror and justice with respect to the disputed role of oil and global capital. Inspired by a seemingly incongruous mix of performance styles including camp satire, esoteric dance and puppetry, high risk aerial circus, blues, Broadway, and John Cage.