In-visible

  • Jesse Obremski

  • Reload

    by Mike Wall

  • Jesse Obremski

  • Jesse Obremski and Artists

  • Jesse Obremski

  • 2

    Original Cast: Blu Furutate and Jie-Hung Connie Shiau

  • World premiere at Arts on Site and the AAPI: We Belong Here 2021 Festival (August 2021) and the film version premiered virtually (May 2022) with additional screenings at the ScreenDance Miami Festival (January 2023) and additional performances at AAPI Montclair Lantern Festival 2023 (May 2023) and The Jamaica Dance Festival 2023 (July 2023).

    This work was produced and Supported through a selected residency by Arts on Site, JChen Projects, and Midheaven Network.

  • 7 minutes and 30 seconds

  • Stemming from the AAPI hate crimes of 2021 and initiating the development of Obremski/Works’s AAPI Support Fellowships, VISION and VOYAGER, In-Visible touches on the common experience of AAPI individuals of feeling unheard, unrecognized, and unseen. Through this incredibly personal work, the full AAPI cast brings in experience, concepts, ideologies, trauma, and more to deepen this work.

    “Many say that invisibility is a fabulous superpower, but how ‘super’ is it when it is oppressed onto you?” - Jesse Obremski

“In-Visible explores a more personal topic. In his program notes, Obremski, a Japanese-American born and raised in New York City, writes about Asian-American and Pacific Islanders feeling unheard and unseen. AAPI dancers Blu Furutate and Mayu Nayaka illustrate this, mirroring each other in movements that evoke quiet frustration. Melting inward and thrusting outward, Furutate performs a hypnotic solo as Nayaka pauses to watch. When Nayaka touches her shoulder, they begin a duet of cause and effect. Nayaka compels Furutate but does not dominate, instead, she slowly draws her partner into communion by gently moving Nayaka’s limbs or indicating direction by moving her own. Movements performed in unison and in counterpoint give the impression of individuality within a shared experience. Moments of canon imply thoughts shared but experienced alone. In a brief but particularly resonant moment, Furutate snakes her head into the space of Nayaka’s circling arms. With a gentle toss, Nayaka travels Furutate across her body, supporting her, yet propelling her forward.”

- Cecly Placenti, The Dance Enthusiast (2024)

 

Obremski/Works Artists Mayu Nakaya (behind left) and Blu Furutate (center) in rehearsal for In-Visible by Jesse Obremski. Photo by McCall McClellan.