A camera records the bird’s-eye view and projects the shifting formations — a beating heart, a happy face, a waterfall — onto a giant screen in real time.
“I don’t think we would have survived so long if we didn’t have the power of the group,” said Renée Jaworski, who co-directs the Vermont-based troupe with Matt Kent.
To mark its momentous anniversary this year, the company is touring a production titled “Pilobolus: Big Five-Oh!” Onstage at 8 p.m.
We like to play, we like to dabble, we’re inspired by lots of things.” For example, their Hyundai commercial featuring dancers in silhouette led to the development of the 2009 work “Shadowland,” incorporating shadow theater and animation.
The evening-length performance also includes “Megawatt,” from 2004, danced on a giant mat to music by Primus, Radiohead and Squarepusher.
“The Solo from the Empty Suitor” , which changes every time it’s performed, draws from the traditions of Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan as its hero tries to balance on five long cylinders without touching the ground.
True to its nature, the company quickly rose to the challenge of the pandemic, with outdoor performances and workshops, dancers in the trees, live music and “car safaris,” with audiences watching from their vehicles.
It was, in a way, a wonderful time travel to a period when we weren’t all running around trying to run a company but just making art because we were there together,” Kent said.
Her favorite part of her job is talking to people who are passionate about making the world a better and more awe-inspiring place, whether that means creating beautiful things, researching the science of happiness, or doing eight pirouettes in a row.