Author Archives: changpearce

Light Being - Penny Chang & Dan Pearce

November 22, 2009 – 12:41 am

Light Being explores the relationship between movement and light, as perceived by the human eye and by the eye of the video camera. Three dancers perform both choreographed and improvised movement, while a video camera and projector simultaneously read and project their path through light, creating a mirage of fantastical images. In between performances, the video equipment will offer visitors the chance to create images with their own bodies and play with the feedback loop of light that will be projected on a backdrop. Former NASA engineer Dan Pierce designed the technical aspects of the dance, while veteran PVCC student choreographer Penny Chang created and dances in the piece. The music, which echoes the lighting with its own feedback loop, was composed and performed by Chang’s 8-year-old son, Jacob Chang-Rascle (Photograph by Jon Hasenfus).

Posted in Let There Be Light 2009 | Comments (0)

Penny Chang & Dan Pearce: Bios

November 21, 2009 – 7:11 pm

Penny Chang studies modern dance with PVCC faculty Cat Maguire and Anne Megibow. Since 2002 she has appeared in seventeen PVCC concerts and collaborations as a performer or choreographer. Past performances include the Dickinson Building’s 10th Anniversary’s Sight Specific, Philadelphia-based Group Motion’s The Dreamer and the Dreamed, and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company’s 100 Migrations. Choreographic credits include Tales of the City, a mosaic of city life with performers aged 11 to 66, and a re-direction of Richard Bull’s structured improvisation, Making and Doing. Chang practices energy healing in Charlottesville and lives with her husband and son in Crozet.

Dan Pearce is a sculptor who combines a background in engineering, design and practical object making to explore higher-dimensions.

Jacob Chang-Rascle attends fourth grade at Crozet Elementary School and studies piano with Jeanne Jackson in Ivy. In his third year of piano, the nine-year-old enjoys improvising and composing his own pieces. He also practices fencing and Ki-Aikido.

Posted in Let There Be Light 2009 | Comments (0)