Last month we welcomed the artistic team behind the live cinema dance performance Broken Theater into our studios and stages as they worked to meld live dance, immersive theater, and cinematic beauty into something wholly new for the Zoom era. The ensemble — led by acclaimed choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith, who made her mark dancing for Israel’s renowned Batsheva Dance Company before striking out on her own — came together to finally share the same space after months of distancing. Following COVID-19 protocols and testing the company-created bubble, the dancers fed on the collective energy, exclaiming that it felt “essential” to be able to dance in person once again.

Over the course of their two-week residency, they developed and shot key scenes and sequences with video designer Derrick Belcham for the upcoming virtual presentation. And if it’s anything like the behind the scenes image above, it’s sure to be magic.

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MASS MoCA’s Artist-in-Residence program is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Additional support is provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with major funding from the federal CARES Act from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Photo: Elvira Lind