“Collected Breath” Midnight Videos on Salesforce Tower Tip (May 1-31)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

From midnight to 1am, each night for the month of May, RAWdance will be poised 1,070 feet above the city on the Salesforce Tower screen, lighting up Jim Campbell’s Day for Night installation as part of the artist’s studio’s monthly “midnight artist collaboration,” in partnership with Boston Properties, owner of Salesforce Tower. Created by RAWdance Co-Artistic Directors Wendy Rein and Ryan T. Smith, Collected Breath features eight dancers embodying an elaborate breathing score, synced up with original, streamable music from local composer Joel St. Julien.

Suggested viewing locations: Elevated points in Potrero Hill, such as Jackson Playground, or from points in Dolores Park, Alamo Square Park, Washington Square Park, Twin Peaks and more.

Dancers connect through breath. It’s how they sync movement onstage. It’s how they perform as one unit—one living organism—tuning into each other’s most natural and basic rhythm. And breath has never had more weight, or been more acutely tied to our physical and emotional lives, than at this moment. A deadly virus and smoke from forest fires put our air at risk. Masks are a constant accessory. And the horrific phrase “I can’t breathe”, the last words of Eric Garner, George Floyd, and too many other Black Americans, stand as a tragic metaphor for systemic racism, violence, and oppression in this country.

Collected Breath aims to connect watchers throughout the city through the unconscious synchronization of breath. With footage individually filmed by company dancers under social distancing protocols, and edited by Rein, the work lights up 11,000 LEDs with a rhythmic breathing score developed by frequent RAWdance collaborator JOEL ST. JULIEN available for synced streaming. With St. Julien’s original 10-minute sound score, music brings another layer of shared experience while watching the work, connecting viewers from vistas around the Bay.

LISTEN HERE Headphones recommended for optimal listening experience.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.