Brian Sanders JUNK: Urban Scuba

ArtYard is excited to announce three workshop performances of Urban Scuba, the acclaimed touring production by Philadelphia-based choreographer and director Brian Sanders. The workshop performances, at 7:30 PM on Friday, March 27 and at 1 and 7:30 PM on Saturday, March 28, are the culmination of the dance troupe’s residency at ArtYard as they work to adapt and scale down the full performances to suit smaller venues. Each performance is approximately one hour.

With a blend of dance, physical theater, and gravity-defying invention, Urban Scuba plunges audiences into a dreamlike, underwater world built entirely from discarded urban materials. Six performers navigate hammocks, scaffolding, swinging rigs, ladders, plastic, a range of found objects — complete with a life-size dumpster — all reborn as innovative ideas that invite audiences to see the world in new and wondrous ways, transforming discarded items into movement, illusion, and unexpected theatrical beauty. At its core, Urban Scuba plays with the idea of “diving” into the overlooked parts of our world — a metaphorical form of urban scuba or dumpster diving. Instead of descending into water, the performers descend into what society throws away, revealing unexpected beauty, humor, and possibility. The show transforms the junk of us into imagination, renewal, and creative reclamation.

Brian Sanders’ Junk will be touring the full production of Urban Scuba in 2026-27. Learn more at briansandersjunk.com.