SiteTime Events

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“SiteTime” opened with Scene One: Slumping October 6, 2017, followed by Scene Two: Falling February 2, 2018, Scene Three: Breathing May 11, 2018, and Scene Four: Level Stacks installed September 2018.

Scene One: Slumping

Directed by Erika Senft Miller. Developed and performed in collaboration with dancers Holly Chagnon, Mireya Guerra, Sage Horsey, Mia Pinheiro, Lydia Kern, and Navah Stein.

poem by Erika Senft Miller

Seemingly still on the outside,
Cellular and fluids—lots of movement—
   continuously pumping, flowing, rippling within the tree
In tree time rhythm.
Photosynthesis – a mutual exchange
Give and take
In tree time rhythm
Tapping sweet sap in spring – boiling down to maple syrup
Fueling us
Us fueling the tree
In tree time rhythm.

Scene Two: Falling

A site-specific performance presented by Erika Senft Miller and dancers.

Dancers move along a projected fall line, representing the action from standing to falling to the ground. Michael Zebrowski performs a standard preparation task—planning to fell a tree using a felling ax. Documentation from Scene One  is projected from the balcony onto the ground and visitor center as sound, light, and lasers support and amplify the actions in the garden.

poem by Erika Senft Miller | photo by Lydia Kern

Tears dripping
catching
gripping
tears slipping through
falling
falling into long bottomless seas
falling into love
tears falling into love

Scene Three: Breathing

A site-specific performance presented by Erika Senft Miller and dancers.

Dancers interact with bands draped over the tree branches, having gained through rehearsal a new understanding of what our body is capable of doing when we show up and work hard, beyond fear and doubts. Hopefully, the viewer is inspired to branch out and explore untapped strength and what connecting and supporting each other can be.

poem by Erika Senft Miller | photo by Renee Greenlee

Felled trees get limbed
Artists reach out to connect
People lending a hand to support
Endurance and strength is tested
How much can we hold
How long can we hold on
Breath at the core of it all
In it for the long haul.

Scene Four: Level Stacks

Installed by Michael Zebrowski and Nancy Winship Milliken

Six stacks now hold the four cords (the average amount used by a family home heated solely by wood) and create a dimensional wall integrated in the sculpture garden—much like many yards in Vermont holding the family’s fuel. The blue wood is a nod to the marks on trees selected to be cut. Underneath each stack is a printing press with canvas ready to receive the year of materials that will sift down and record the evolution, as did a canvas placed under a pile during Breathing.