BRANCHOUT: COMMUNITY CENTERED PERFORMANCE
BranchOut is an interactive dance performance performed in the Horticultural Gardens of Michigan State University in May 2022. This project investigates the nature of tree communication and community, embodying the science of tree communication and symbiosis with mycorrhiza through dance and music. This interdisciplinary art project explores art as a way of knowing in the engagement with the environment. Currently funded through the STEAM Power Fellowship at Michigan State University, this project is a collaboration between multiple artists and scientists at Michigan State University and Brigham Young University.
BranchOut was developed to combat the screen fatigue brought on by years of pivoting for COVID. The seed for the idea began with the concept of Forest Bathing, walking in the woods mindfully to reduce anxiety. Further concepts of human engagement with forests took root and became BranchOut.
Creative Collaborators on BranchOut 2022:
- Project Director: Alison Dobbins, Professor of Theatre at Michigan State University
- Choreographer: Kori Wakamatsu, Professor of Dance at Brigham Young University
- Forester: Emily Huff, Associate Professor of Human Dimensions of Forestry, Michigan State University
- Composer: Alexis Bacon, Associate Professor of Composition, Michigan State University
- Designer: Rebecca Schuiling, Teaching Specialist of Apparel and Textile Design, Michigan State University
- Fiber Artist: Megan Heeres
- Assessment: Megan Halpern, Assistant Professor Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University
- Screen Dance Cinematographer: Karen Jensen
- AR Designer/Coordinator: Stephanie Vasko, Daniel Trego, iOS Lab at Michigan State University