Dance of the Cranes
Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 10:21AM Dance of the Cranes was a collaborative performance piece that consisted of a 25 minute choreographed dance performed by two high-rise construction cranes. The dance was performed at the beginning of every hour, from 7 PM to 3 AM on the night of Nuit Blanche (www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca), October 3rd, 2009 . The dance was performed in Liberty Village by two tower construction cranes that stood on the same site and are visible above the Toronto skyline. At the designated times the cranes came to life in a synchronized spectacle of motion. In the darkness they slowly began to pivot, rotate and sway in harmonized gestures, each crane performing delicate motions hundreds of metres above the audience on the sidewalks below. This work is a meditation on the movement and labour that takes place on a colossal scale in the physical building of our urban landscape. It is an attempt to draw the audience’s attention to the massive machines that build our city above our heads, and the skill of the individuals that operate the cranes. This performance was in collaboration with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 793 (who operate the cranes) and with support from CANALFA developers.
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