Zaccho Dance Theatre created a site-specific dance performance in collaboration with Grace Cathedral at the pinnacle of Nob Hill in San Francisco. Using the Cathedral itself as both canvas and collaborator, we created an atmosphere worthy of this beautiful art piece.
Since 2018, Joanna Haigood of Zaccho Dance Theatre envisioned a site-specific dance performance in collaboration with Grace Cathedral at the pinnacle of Nob Hill in San Francisco. Lightswitch was introduced to the project at the height of the pandemic in 2021. We saw this as a profound opportunity to support the work of a dear friend and artist, as well as a chance to create something beautiful for the community. The project required us to light three towering apparatuses spread through the soaring cathedral, each representing different phases of being in love: The Surrender, The Striving, and The Quieting.
The three sections of the performance provided three distinct movement opportunities for the dancers. The Surrender (an 87 foot tall pendulum swing), The Striving (a 100 foot tall angular steel ladder), and The Quieting (a 20 foot tall visually delicate yet physically formidable hourglass sculpture) each presented their own challenges when it came to lighting. With limited available power, condensed installation time, and long throw distances as our primary challenges, we were able to overcome each obstacle using simple yet robust LED fixtures. The fixtures we selected provided powerful top and back light for the Striving, top light for the Quieting, and long throw front light for the Surrender. These lights were also able to double as architectural toning to showcase the striking structure of the Cathedral itself. Our team was also able to cut down on the amount of cable we had to run to the fixtures. A lack of cable running along the floor helped maintain accessibility, since the audience was encouraged to explore the open floor plan during the performance.
Mimicking the way natural light filters through stained glass led us to develop a color palette of ambers, lavenders, daylight white, and cobalt blues. Haze enhanced the beams of light that cut through the air, lending softness and creating a transcendent atmosphere. Grace Cathedral itself contributed some of the most effective design choices. Lightswitch found that natural daylight was a powerful ally in creating our color palette, and the vast stone background provided a welcoming canvas that revealed extraordinary nuances in color and shadow. Shadows played with the bare stone walls over long distances, adding movement and texture to the performances.
The key to success with this project was finding a way to balance the expansive space of the venue with the dancers’ intimate and graceful performances. Our goal was to design lighting that would subtly embed itself within the space, the performers, and the scenic elements — revealing and supporting, but not overwhelming, the conceptual aspects of the piece. We achieved this through our resourceful use of LED fixtures, cabling, and natural and artificial lighting. Using the Cathedral itself as both canvas and collaborator, we created an atmosphere worthy of this beautiful art piece from Zaccho Dance Theatre.
