PENUMBRA: Ballet that embraces our darker side

Lust, anger, jealousy, fascination with death…those strong, baser instincts that we try to ignore and keep in the shadows…are embraced in a unique experimental ballet coming to Philly on Saturday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. at Vox Populi in Northern Liberties. PENUMBRA is a two-hour choreographed ballet that combines live music, dance and installation artwork to show the beauty that can be found when we embrace our darker side.

Local ballerinas Marina Kec, Jenna Frome, Caitlin Dagle and Nicole Battestilli will dance a sensual interpretation of classical ballet to complement live music from three bands, Entertainment, Ecstatic Vision, and Canada, while being surrounded by an atmospheric installation created by Farida Amar, the founder and art director of Unraveled.

Unraveled was founded to give a voice to young artists in a world where everything is digitized. One way it has done this is through a series of T-shirts that feature song lyrics curated from a community of independent artists. Learn more about Unraveled here.

PENUMBRA, while in development for a year, will only be performed once. All your senses will be heightened in this experimental ballet that will explore sex, death and other taboo subjects. There will be no pink tutus here.