Troika Ranch

After visiting The Moving Company for our class site visit, it made me think of a dance company called Troika Ranch. Executive and artistic director, Dawn Stoppiello, and technology and artistic director, Mark Coniglio, have been friends of the family since before I was born. Mark has been friends with my mom and her siblings since high school, and we have all been privileged to learn about the company and watch it thrive.

Their website, http://www.troikaranch.org/, states "Troika Ranch is the collaborative vision of artists Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello. Established in 1994, and maintaining a troika of home bases in Portland, Oregon, New York City and Berlin, Germany, Troika Ranch produces live performances, interactive installations, and digital films, all of which combine traditional aspects of these forms with advanced technologies. The artists’ mission in producing this wide range of art experiences is to create artwork that best reflects and engages contemporary society."

Mark and Dawn's pieces are unlike anything I've seen. Their originality comes from a collection of theatre, dance, music, and technology. A couple years ago I was lucky enough to see the piece, loopdiver, live at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, NE. According to their website, loopdiver is described by "the meaning of the materials grows and changes as it appears again and again, ultimately challenging us to dive in a break free of our own repetitive and potentially destructive behavior. I wanted to share the video of parts of the 60 minute performance found on their website, but was unable to load it on my blog. I encourage you to visit http://www.troikaranch.org/, where you can watch the loopdiver performance and others, and find more information about the company. The video I am showing is the developing and practice of the performance, not the actual end product. There is also a video on YouTube that explains the creative process and development of loopdiver, which is very interesting. You can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/troikaranch

Loopdiver

Choreography: Dawn Stoppiello in collaboration with the performers
Videography & Music: Mark Coniglio
Dramaturgy: Peter C von Salis
Lighting Design: David Tirosh
Set Design: Colin Kilian
Production Manager: Jennifer Sherburn
Performers: Morgan Cloud, Jennifer Kovacevich, Johanna Levy, Travis Steele Sisk, Dawn Stoppiello and Lucia Tong.
Commissioning Partners: Lied Center for Performing Arts, Creative Campus Innovations Program (APAP and Doris Duke Foundation), the National Endowment for the Arts, 3LD Art & Technology Center, Jerome Foundation, Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund