Watch out—there may be a dance popping up near you!
The dancers gather at Point Park. Dressed in white, three of them stand by the stone wall. Their arms arch into S-curves, then undulate with a movement that ripples down their bodies. The bend to the ground as if they’re gathering something, then swoop into the S-curve again.
They dance to simple piano music. The video’s straight-on, a single shot, black and white. We might be watching a movie made in the 1920s.
Then the camera swoops away, following the running bodies through an arch to join more dancers who add harmony to the three dancers’ unison. We’re definitely in the 21st century, because as the women run to look over the precipice, the point of view sails into the air and carries the watcher out over the city, following the dancers’ gaze.
The Pop-up Project brings together artists, technology and place, rooting dance in the city of Chattanooga by creating “pop ups” at varying locations. The founders and directors, Jules Downum and Mattie Waters, aim to create new public dances every month. They’ve performed at the Hunter Museum and at Wheland Foundry; next stop’s the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. They’ll also be performing at Miller Park and 706 Market.
In addition to Jules and Mattie, collaborators have included feature dancers Cornelius Heard, Hannah Locke and Lacy Maselle, a corps of dancers from Zanzibar Studio, musicians, a photographer, a videographer, painters, make-up artists, and a storyteller.
The emphasis on location and history came naturally to Jules, who holds an MA in cultural anthropology from San Diego State University.
“Mattie and I grew up together here, but we both left and traveled,” Jules says. “After we returned, we…wanted to connect to performers and audiences here. Mattie said, ‘Let’s go places and dance!’ That’s how the site-specific aspect evolved. It started as a way for us to connect with the city and then it became about the city.”
“We chose to just pop up and perform because we knew people would happen upon it,” says Mattie, who holds a BA with honors in theatre arts from the University of Manchester. “They’d get this pop of dance, music, history, storytelling—they’d see our city in a different light.”
Each experience is different, rewarding artists and audiences alike with the unexpected. Yet it takes hard work and careful preparation to create the space for the serendipitous to arise.
“We’ve been very diligent,” Mattie says. “We expect the worst and the best. We know the space we are in and we’ve been working together so long that we know even with the unexpected [our dancers] make it part of the piece.”
The Pop-up Project’s dances have many influences, especially early modern dance and bellydance. There’s often an early 20th century feel to the music, movements and costuming, reflecting Chattanooga’s flourishing days as an industrial and railroad hub.
“[Early modern dance] was very much influenced by bellydance and Greek dance,” Jules says. “That is the genre our foundation is in—when we incorporate other forms, it throws back to those other dancers who were influenced by bellydance.”
“We were inspired by that music,” Mattie agrees. “That romanticism—it transports you to another time—love, the damsel in distress, passion—[hearing it] I feel sucked into a 1920s speakeasy—it’s hidden and naughty.”
Jules, Mattie and their collaborators are also documenting their project with a series of beautiful videos.“We have amazing cinematographers,” Jules says. “We share our plan and allow them to do their thing.”
Pop-up Project cinematographer Tim Cofield explains: “A good cinematographer has to dance with the dancers!” The camera can take the viewer high into the air or up close to mingle with the performers.
“Cinematography transports people who are sitting on the couch into the space with us,” Jules says. On the other hand, “When you come to a live show, you’ll experience the weather with us.”
Either way, you’ll have an experience that’s unique to you.
To see the Pop-up Project’s video collection, visit thepopupproject.org or facebook.com/popupprojectchattanooga. Next stop, the Pop-up Project will next visit the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum!