CINCINNATI — On the last night of BLINK, art will leap off the Federal Building at Fourth and Main downtown in a unique, international way.
Dancers from Over-the-Rhine's Elementz Hip Hop Cultural Arts Center will appear in-person, dancing with their projections on the building that evening. The artwork is called "Acts of Holding Dance."
"We're adding a whole other level of dynamic showmanship," said Camille Jones, the co-choreographer and Elementz's senior manager of advancement.
Jones and three other dancers have been rehearsing in the center's space on Race Street and juggling schedules with Australian projection mapping artist Wendy Yu. That means sometimes rehearsals were held at odd hours for one side of the process.
"She helped coordinate this with me via Zoom calls," Jones said. "What I really appreciated from her is that she allowed me to share some ideas to influence the work and what would be created and we took those notes and that direction and shared it with Lightbourne."
Co-choreographer and dancer Anaya Ni'Kole has performed street dancing since she was a young teenager. She said she sees the unique installation as a chance to introduce more people to the form.
"I feel like all of us together as a collaborative was just good," she said. "I love seeing the dancing more active in Cincinnati now than it has been."
Elementz was formed in the wake of the 2001 police shooting of Timothy Thomas, based on the expressed needs of community youth. BLINK is giving it a huge stage, or canvas int his case, this weekend.
"It's sort of like stepping out of the canvas so to speak, so I'm really excited for how people respond to it and I'm excited to give of myself to the audience who views it," Jones said.
The four dancers perform Sunday evening in front of the installation.
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