Dark Sky Aerial
ARCO - An Original Dance Film by Dark Sky Aerial, Filmed by Sandcast Media
In 2014, Dark Sky Aerial was co-founded by six women sharing a deep passion for dance and
movement. Their consistent sense of curiosity has been an inspiration for their creative work.
Dark Sky Aerial's unique style of performance art is rooted in a rich tradition of modern dance.
The company's work is brought to life in unexpected and non-traditional venues. Today, Dark Sky Aerial is operated by Board Chair and Company Member, Myra Popejoy, Artistic Directors and Co-Founders: Isabelle Dove Robinson, Abby Chan, Joanie Garcia, and Creative Director and Co- Founder, Elisa Venezia.
movement. Their consistent sense of curiosity has been an inspiration for their creative work.
Dark Sky Aerial's unique style of performance art is rooted in a rich tradition of modern dance.
The company's work is brought to life in unexpected and non-traditional venues. Today, Dark Sky Aerial is operated by Board Chair and Company Member, Myra Popejoy, Artistic Directors and Co-Founders: Isabelle Dove Robinson, Abby Chan, Joanie Garcia, and Creative Director and Co- Founder, Elisa Venezia.
501(c)3 nonprofit performance art company, Dark Sky Aerial (DSA), has embarked on its second original and new concept dance film - ARCO. ARCO is an original dance film, filmed on-site at Arcosanti in Mayer, Arizona between March 6th - 10th , 2023.
ARCO is created and performed by Dark Sky Aerial and filmed and produced by Blake McCord, Harlan Taney, and Justin Clifton of Sandcast Media. Principal Dancer, Abby Chan, will take the viewer into her realm - exploring her path of acceptance and healing, which she discovers can only be done by pausing, un-learning, and untangling to allow her true self to re-emerge.
The film will explore the following in a scene-by-scene experience told through visual
storytelling and dance, untangling the below underlying themes:
The film will explore the following in a scene-by-scene experience told through visual
storytelling and dance, untangling the below underlying themes:
INERTIA | Alignment. Meeting the world where it tells us we are supposed to be. Ignoring the
gnawing feeling in our gut telling us something might be amiss, that we are not truly aligned with our own truth. There may be more behind the curtain, more beyond the lines, beauty in the
unknown and unknown energy in the exploration of our curiosity. A connection and sense of our own true authenticity. What is freedom? How can we free what inhibits us from being our
authentic selves? The right to BE.
DISCORD | Bending the lines. The shifts we feel do not always start with enlightenment, or, at the very least, this enlightenment does not always feel euphoric. It can be messy and scary and
challenging and painful, yet we keep pushing. Eventually we break the lines and begin to allow
them into something objectively beautiful. The right to BECOME.
gnawing feeling in our gut telling us something might be amiss, that we are not truly aligned with our own truth. There may be more behind the curtain, more beyond the lines, beauty in the
unknown and unknown energy in the exploration of our curiosity. A connection and sense of our own true authenticity. What is freedom? How can we free what inhibits us from being our
authentic selves? The right to BE.
DISCORD | Bending the lines. The shifts we feel do not always start with enlightenment, or, at the very least, this enlightenment does not always feel euphoric. It can be messy and scary and
challenging and painful, yet we keep pushing. Eventually we break the lines and begin to allow
them into something objectively beautiful. The right to BECOME.
ENLIGHTENMENT |
Tapping into this energy of individual choice and curiosity requires the
acceptance that we will have to shed many of the comforts that have acted as antiseptic
bandages covering the raw bits of ourselves, and reach deep into the world to discover what it
means to be alive. Individual choice means taking responsibility and shedding the comforts which include being a victim. Realizing that in everything we do we are making a choice whether we realize it or not.
acceptance that we will have to shed many of the comforts that have acted as antiseptic
bandages covering the raw bits of ourselves, and reach deep into the world to discover what it
means to be alive. Individual choice means taking responsibility and shedding the comforts which include being a victim. Realizing that in everything we do we are making a choice whether we realize it or not.
EUPHORIA | Only then do we begin to understand that those parts of ourselves we had been
soothing through inertia required fresh air to breathe. By stepping away from inertia we begin to
see the dawn differently, we begin to feel the euphoria of a new day. We begin to feel our
connection to the life force that lives in us and all things. To be connected to life, we must melt
into it. There is no “other”. What I do to you, I do to me. What I do to me, I also do to you. If I hate myself, I will also hate you. If I am gentle and kind to myself, I will also be that way with you. The end of “othering”.
soothing through inertia required fresh air to breathe. By stepping away from inertia we begin to
see the dawn differently, we begin to feel the euphoria of a new day. We begin to feel our
connection to the life force that lives in us and all things. To be connected to life, we must melt
into it. There is no “other”. What I do to you, I do to me. What I do to me, I also do to you. If I hate myself, I will also hate you. If I am gentle and kind to myself, I will also be that way with you. The end of “othering”.
A Note from Creative Director, Elisa Venezia
“It is so liberating for us to drop into creativity because this is the capacity where our senses are heightened and we rely less on our cognitive conditionings. Creativity is asking us to dissolve into a deeper knowing. When we rise from this creative place we just know what to do....as opposed to having to think about what's next. When we're tapped into this creative place we can sense humanity, and in return humanity can sense us. This is a connection through our heart which encourages the most authentic movement from our bodies.
When we come from a place of knowing, art can expand into a personal invitation to anyone
who is watching…and to create from this space is to be in harmony with what is, and to be
without the anxiety of effort and perfection.”
“It is so liberating for us to drop into creativity because this is the capacity where our senses are heightened and we rely less on our cognitive conditionings. Creativity is asking us to dissolve into a deeper knowing. When we rise from this creative place we just know what to do....as opposed to having to think about what's next. When we're tapped into this creative place we can sense humanity, and in return humanity can sense us. This is a connection through our heart which encourages the most authentic movement from our bodies.
When we come from a place of knowing, art can expand into a personal invitation to anyone
who is watching…and to create from this space is to be in harmony with what is, and to be
without the anxiety of effort and perfection.”
The Site
Founded in 1970, Arcosanti is a project of The Cosanti Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization whose mission is to inspire a reimagined urbanism that builds resilient and equitable communities sustainably integrated with the natural world. At Arcosanti, staff and residents pursue the mission through experimentation and application of the principles of "arcology", a combination of the words architecture and ecology that offers an alternative to urban sprawl.
In 2021, DSA created OMEN - the company's premiere performance film, featuring harness dance and a surreal natural wall in the Grand Canyon. OMEN was viewed by 150,000 viewers worldwide (virtually and in-person) via the national and international film festival circuit - and received a write-up in The New York Times, in tandem with a premiere at Lincoln Center.
The project is funded in part by the Creative Flagstaff and the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
Impact ARCO has an estimated viewership of 10,000+ by the close of 2023. A donation made in the amount of $500.00 or more will offer unique leverage with an infinite audience reach.
Need for Continued Funding
In order to execute the vision for ARCO, DSA must raise additional funds to cover the remaining
production cost.
Qualifications, Experience, and Capacity
DSA is an award-winning performance art company, nominated and/or winning the Viola Award
for Excellence and Innovation for original work OPIA in ‘16 and TILT in ‘17 and ‘18. OMEN won the Award for Excellence in Collaboration in 2022. DSA has been featured in select media and has been producing original work since late 2014. OMEN screened and won an award (including Best Dance Film and Best Experimental Film) at varied film festivals hosted in: Hollywood, Israel, Germany, Greece, Phoenix, New York City, San Francisco, Australia, and more.
Plan for Delivery DSA will submit ARCO to national and international dance film festivals, mountain film festivals -with local presentation and structured screening in Flagstaff, Arizona. The goal of ARCO is, ultimately, to inspire and connect the expanding DSA audience to the vastness of human potential.
DSA is an award-winning performance art company, nominated and/or winning the Viola Award
for Excellence and Innovation for original work OPIA in ‘16 and TILT in ‘17 and ‘18. OMEN won the Award for Excellence in Collaboration in 2022. DSA has been featured in select media and has been producing original work since late 2014. OMEN screened and won an award (including Best Dance Film and Best Experimental Film) at varied film festivals hosted in: Hollywood, Israel, Germany, Greece, Phoenix, New York City, San Francisco, Australia, and more.
Plan for Delivery DSA will submit ARCO to national and international dance film festivals, mountain film festivals -with local presentation and structured screening in Flagstaff, Arizona. The goal of ARCO is, ultimately, to inspire and connect the expanding DSA audience to the vastness of human potential.
Conclusion and Donor Benefit
Charitable giving to DSA is tax-deductible. DSA is requesting support with a unique opportunity
for continued leverage, in the preserved film format. A donation in the amount of $500.00 or
more will be noted in the credit section of the film. For further information, please contact DSA at info@darkskyaerial.com. Donations can be made at www.darkskyaerial.org.