Nostos Erda (Return to Earth)

Premiere: June 2003
Choreography: Bill James
Costume Design: Shelagh Young

Performers:
Danielle Baskerville, Justine Chambers, D.A. Hoskins, Sasha Ivanochko, Rodney Morgan and Jonathan Osborn

About

Nostos Erda (Return to Earth) is a document of a personal journey that began in the summer of 2002. It is inspired in part by the book "Biomimicry" by Janine M. Benyus. The book details the present and future of design through examination of nature and how nature's processes provide everything to learn from. I feel that I have been a biologist all my life and my earliest memory is of ducks swimming. The choreography for this new work is based on close examination of a wetland and its surroundings through four seasons. Insects, birds and mammals, trees and plants, geography, water and wind, where these all intersect provide the clues for the design of this work. Metamorphosis, defense mechanisms and the unique abilities of various creatures and plants are among the observations. I have gathered both the visual and audio materials that accompany the performance and set and costumes are created by Shelagh Young.