On Site/In Sight Brings Dance To Unexpected Places

Over the next few days, downtown Winston-Salem will be turned into a stage.

Well, not literally, but some businesses and public spaces will be host to a series of unexpected artistic happenings.

On Site/In Sight is a free dance festival that takes movement out of the theatre and into the city. Through classes, pop-up performances, and site-specific works, audiences have the chance to interact with dance in a unique way.

Julianne Harper is one of the festival organizers. She says audiences are a key factor in why On Site/In Sight utilizes non-traditional spaces.

“I've heard from different audience members who have experienced dance in the past, that going to a theatre, sitting down, and watching in that setting maybe doesn't really grab them, doesn't do it for them.“

The idea is that if dance is “occurring around you,” your relationship with dance might change.

For instance, Harper says, “Maybe you're on your lunch hour at Bailey Park. All of a sudden some bodies start moving around you, some music starts happening. You experience it in a little more of an informal way, so you can get rid of those preconceived ideas, or maybe a separation you might feel from dance.”

There will be dance experiences at multiple locations including 525 @Vine, Airtype, Bailey Park, ARTivity on The Green, and Winston-Salem's monthly Gallery Hop on Trade Street.

“There's not so much of a separation of the audience and the work happening - it's all around, so the audience doesn't have to stay where they are," according to Harper. "They don't have to stay seated the whole time, they can move around. And the performances, each piece, will happen around and through the audience as well.”

More details and a complete schedule are available at Helen Simeneau Danse.