Aerial and Contemporary Ballet to Present ‘A Bending of Its Own Kind: Aspiration’

Nashville-based chamber ensemble chatterbird is excited to partner with aerial and contemporary ballet company FALL for their latest collaborative performance. A Bending of Its Own Kind: Aspiration will take place May 19 at Emerson Hall in Nashville and tickets are available on a pay-what-you-can scale now (here).

A Bending of Its Own Kind is a dance performance piece created by FALL Artistic Director Rebekah Hampton Barger about her experience with severe scoliosis and chronic pain. Since 2017, Bending has expanded to include the stories of other individuals living with chronic pain, seeking ways to provide resources and community connection.

chatterbird has partnered with FALL on a new expansion of this project entitled Aspiration, which explores the connections between hope and breath, and what each of those means in the face of living with a chronic condition.

“We were thrilled when chatterbird invited us to develop a collaborative concert and honored that they were interested in partnering with us in the work we’ve been doing within the chronic pain community,” said Rebekah Hampton Barger, Founder and Artistic Director of FALL. “It’s always a treat to perform with live musicians, especially ones as brilliant as those in chatterbird’s ensemble, and we are so excited to share the stage with them again for this unique concert experience.”

The music and movement for this piece have been developed separately, with both choreographer and composers drawing inspiration from a discussion between five individuals who each live with a form of hypermobility disorder, along with several other comorbidities. During this performance, the composers will perform a structured improvisation alongside the dancers, and the performance will be captured and incorporated into a full-length performance of A Bending Of Its Own Kind on June 1 and 2 in Knoxville, TN, hosted by Dragonfly Aerial Arts and Circus Studio.

“We are so grateful for the opportunity to work with FALL and to be a part of the innovative work they are doing in Nashville,” said Celine Thackston, Founder and Artistic Director of chatterbird. “FALL was a part of our very first chatterbird show in 2014, so we’re excited to share collaboration with audiences as a part of our 10th year of programming.”