Performances

Status: In development
Target: Saturday, July 25, 2026
Location: Buffalo, NY

Bridging Acts: A Dialogue Between Motion and Media

A one-day interdisciplinary performance directed by Léwuga Tata Benson that explores the tension and harmony between the human body and digital mediation through a two-part structure: live performance (Act I) and a rapid, edited “afterlife” (Act II).

Director / Curator: Léwuga Tata Benson Performer: Alexandra Light (Ballerina) Media Artist: Clayton Colin Funding: NYSCA
Bridging Acts is an extension of my interdisciplinary practice—sound, projection, and immersive staging—shifted into performance: the body becomes the central “artifact,” and mediation becomes visible in real time. The work foregrounds presence vs. translation: what happens when motion is captured, framed, and transformed into an image with its own agency.
This page is designed as a living container. As dates, rehearsals, and venues are confirmed, I will update these sections.
The work is built as a two-act system:
  • Act I: Live choreography unfolds alongside real-time filming, making the act of watching (and being watched) part of the event.
  • Intermission: The media artist rapidly edits captured footage into a re-interpretation, not a literal replay.
  • Act II: The edited video is presented as projection—an “afterlife” of the body rendered through light, memory, and mediation.
This structure is integral to the project’s meaning: translation becomes the narrative engine.
The staging emphasizes surveillance, authorship, and vulnerability:

Act I Setup

A clapperboard introduces “Take One,” the stage drops to darkness, and a single bench anchors the action. Breath and physical exertion are subtly amplified through discreet mics, collapsing distance between performer and audience.

Camera as Antagonist

The media artist films in close proximity, shaping power through framing. The asymmetry is intentional: the performer is mediated; the filming body stays largely unexamined.

Alexandra Light

Principal dancer and choreographer with a research-based practice and commissions/residencies. Her work supports a movement language that can hold intimacy, endurance, and narrative ambiguity.

Clayton Colin

Video editor/animator with extensive post-production experience (Premiere, After Effects, Blender), supporting the core premise: rapid transformation of live footage into a mediated “echo.”
  • Rehearsals: July 6-21, 2026
  • Artist Talk: July 22, 2026 at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center / July 23, 2026 at Buffalo AKG Art Museum
  • One-day performance + reception: Saturday, July 25, 2026
*When the venue is confirmed, I will replace “windows” with exact dates + add RSVP/ticket links.
Current venue:
  • UB Center for the Arts (Black Box) — ideal for intimate, high-contrast staging and audience implication.
The performance is conceived for a layout that implicates the audience as witnesses from multiple angles.
The project includes documentation that reinforces the theme of mediated visibility: event photography + video capture (including audience reaction), and an edited output that becomes part of the project’s archive and future touring/presentations.
Funded by: New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).
Art Services Inc., Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo AKG Art Museum.
© Léwuga Tata Benson
Last updated: February 2026