Brian Sanders’ JUNK
Brian Sanders’ JUNK is known for their ingenious use of found objects and clever inventions that bridge the gap between dance and physical theater. Sanders’ choreography blends traditional dance theater with an inventiveness and physicality that gives reason for critics to hail JUNK as “Philly’s most imaginative perpetrator of dare-devilish physical theater” and declare Sanders as “the city’s most exciting choreographer.”
JUNK’s mission as a dance-theater company is to inspire with creativity. The company strives to produce work that is both artistic and accessible while maintaining a ceaseless desire to try new things. Through original productions and community outreach JUNK seeks to serve as a catalyst for generating fresh ideas and to encourage us to see the world in a new and vital way.
Urban Scuba
June 2021
Philadelphia-based Brian Sanders’JUNK will be in residence this spring to adapt and scale down the full performance of Urban Scuba to suit smaller venues. The three-week residency culminates in three workshop performances of Urban Scuba.
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.
Ancestral Lights
June 2021
Brian Sanders’ JUNK was in residence developing a performance to launch ArtYard’s inaugural Aqualumina Festival.
During the residency, JUNK created Ancestral Lights, a site-specific outdoor dance performance illuminating refugee narratives and kindling light in a time of darkness and displacement. The music was a three-way collaboration between Brian Sandrer’s JUNK, Oran Etkin, and Mad Beatz Philly.
