RACC Press Releases

The in situ:PORTLAND program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) presents Penta: WATER, the fifth and final installment in Wilkes’ year-long dance project inspired by the Five-Element Theory. PENTA: Five Elements, Five Seasons, is a series of conceptual performances based on the relationships within the Five Element Theory, the outdoor riverside environment of Portland and duets that take place on the ground and in the air.

No Charge (Donations Accepted). Rain or Shine. Bring a chair, dress warmly, and allow time for parking [Ground may be muddy]. For further information and directions or bad weather cancellations, check http://www.cydneywilkes.org or call 503-823-5111.

The Five Element System is about cycles from beginning to end. Each phase is considered an element and correlates with a season. Water correlates with winter, the season of the death and rebirth, culmination of process, timelessness and fear. Each installment of Penta is a blend of choreography and scoring (a structure which specifies concepts and actions, making each performance unique). The aerial work lends an altered perspective to pedestrian-like moments and situations. On the ground, the droll and mysterious duets performed by Wilkes and Barber reveal whimsical and haunting distillations of human relationships. By performing these peculiar and potent activities through dance shaped by the Five Elements, Penta reveals universal and human concepts as well as the passage of time and climate set within the environment beside Portland’s Willamette River.

The first installment took place May 2004, during the time of spring, and the element of wood, the second during summer and the time of fire, which symbolizes heat, passion, peak growth and the color red. The third installment was centered on late summer, the element Earth and the essence of Mother, and the fourth in fall, the time of Father, condensing resources and shedding things no longer needed.

This event is a commission of in situ: PORTLAND, a program that temporarily places public art that will serve as a catalyst for dialogue about art and ideas, managed by Kristin Calhoun, Public Art Manager for the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Penta is also made possible with generous donations from Portland Parks & Recreation and Portland General Electric.

Through vision, leadership and service the Regional Arts & Culture Council works to integrate arts and culture in all aspects of community life.
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