4Chambers – Location, Tickets, Reviews
UPDATE, February 17, 9:30am
Enter to win two tickets to 4Chambers
Original Post, January 28, 2014
Jody Oberfelder choreographed and directed 4Chambers, an immersive and intricate dance and theater experience, in which audience members venture into an installation inspired by the structure and functions of the heart. 4Chambers had a successful run on Governor’s Island last summer, which prompted its return.
Only 12 people attend each performance, which begins in the small waiting room as Oberfelder takes each audience member — or more accurately, participant — by the hand, stares them in the eye, and sends them to the maze of the heart. From there, the 6 dancers take over — they are the audience’s guides through rooms with video art, rooms with technological machinery, and rooms that are completely empty. In each room a performance or activity takes place, each inspired by different aspect of the heart. In some rooms the audience is just an observer, in many others the audience members are active participants. Don’t go if you’re not willing to do part of the work.
Maxamoo
4Chambers is what each individual audience member makes of it. If you come with an open mind and check your self-consciousness at the door, you are likely to gain more from the show, but if you are shy, cynical, or overly concerned about personal space. You will answer questions while attached to a heart rate monitor. You will be touched. You’ll even have to dance.
The cast is all very dedicated and invested in the concept. Each dancer “adopts” an audience member or two to guide for the entirety of the show, which creates a sense of intimacy and awareness of your body that lingers after the show. The variety of elements weaved into the journey — not all of them include dance and movement — is generally fascinating and surprising. Not everything hits the mark, but it is always intriguing and exciting to see what comes next. If you’re willing to truly immerse yourself in this site-specific experience, there is much to gain.
Public opinion
Upon leaving the installation at the end of the performance, everybody in the small group was reverential and introspective. There is a station where audience members can leave notes to their guiding dancer and many appeared to take that opportunity. The responses throughout the performance itself were varied — some were less cooperative than others, some were visibly emotional. Despite the very limited number of tickets, most performances for 4Chambers are not yet sold out.
From Twitter:
@JenLam: Really lovely night at @JodyOberfelder‘s affectionate, playful & thoughtful #4Chambers. Don’t miss it. http://ow.ly/sW6sV #dance
@LauraHeartElle: You must see @JodyOberfelder‘s incredible interactive dance piece, 4 Chambers. Also features contribution from @EdwardEinhorn! #NYC #dance
Have you seen 4Chambers? What did you think? Comment below or tweet us at @Maxamoo.
Critics Reviews
The L Magazine
Oberfelder should have just created a short dance about the heart at the Joyce or Dance Theater Workshop and left the immersive and site-specific theater to others.
New York Theare Reviews
4Chambers is hard to shake after seeing it. If you surrender yourself to it, it will give you something marvelous in return.
OffOffOnline
Expect the Unexpected
Theatre is Easy
I can’t recall the last time I was in a room of humans with such an acute awareness of our humanity.
Williamsburg Greenpoint News+Art
The genius of the piece emerges as we discover how our experience is at once driven by our inner dialogue and yet circumscribed by choreography
TICKETS
$75 (click here for tickets)
DATES
Performances Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through March 22, 2014
LOCATION
Arts@Renaissance
2 Kingsland Avenue
Brooklyn
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RUNNING TIME
1 hour, no intermission
NEWS
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Directed and choreographed by Jody Oberfelder
Video art by Jason Bahling
Composed by Richard Einhorn, Jonathan Melville Pratt, Matt McBane, Edward Einhorn
Featuring (rotating cast) Megan Bascom, Zachary Leigh Denison, Rayvawn Johnson, Joey Kipp, Mary Madsen, Lonnie Poupard, Shane Rutkowski, Mercedes Searer, Lily Bo Shapiro