The Exploratorium
Working in collaboration with the Exploratorium’s Public Programs team, I created three original performances for their After Dark series for adults. Each piece was entirely site- and theme-specific, developed in partnership with science educators and local dancers, and designed to translate scientific ideas into embodied, immersive performance.
december Solstice
Return of the Sun weaves dance and science into a poetic love triangle between Gaia (Earth), the Sun, and Polaris (the North Star). Through movement and voice, Gaia embodies our living planet—tilting, orbiting, and responding to cosmic forces that shape the seasons. The Sun is her source of life, warmth, and renewal, departing at the winter solstice and slowly returning as days lengthen. Polaris, nearly fixed in the night sky, never approaches or retreats; instead, it offers orientation and constancy, the axis around which Earth turns.
The performance translates astronomical truths—Earth’s axial tilt, rotation, and orbit—into an emotional narrative of longing, devotion, and return. This meeting of art and science invites audiences to feel the mechanics of the cosmos in their own bodies, celebrating the solstice as both a scientific moment and a deeply human ritual of hope, remembrance, and renewal.
Roots
Choreographed for After Dark, this performance in the Exploratorium’s Black Box illustrated how Mycorrhizal root systems represent a symbiotic and intricate relationship between plant roots and specialized fungi known as mycorrhizae. In this mutually beneficial association, the plant provides the mycorrhizal fungi with sugars produced through photosynthesis, while the fungi enhance the plant's ability to absorb water and essential nutrients from the soil.
The Air Fountain
Designed for the 2022 Art of Tinkering exhibition, Daniel Wurtzel’s Air Fountain features a piece of fabric, dancing hypnotically, and invites the viewer to connect with the artwork. Interact with the mesmerizing fabric as it dances through the air.
After hours I got some time with the Air Fountain.
Plantasticas
Performing to live music with Miriam Perez, we activated the floor and danced through the musuem as the Roaming Roses. Delighting visitors, drawing them into Gallery Two for the music, and generally having the time of our lives.
Get to know the wonderful world of las plantas! From maíz to marigolds, plants shape our cultura and our planet. Take a look at plants from many angles—food, science, gardening, and more. Touch plants, grind them up and smell them, study them under microscopes, and meet the gente who care for them.