For this iteration, Brooks has made a zine<\/a>, in which they write, \u201cI grieve and I decompose this grief daily.\u201d<\/p>\nWe are all creatures on earth; we all decompose. And here, on the Wavertree, so does Brooks\u2019s whale fall project, which begin as an experimental dance film in 2021. That sense of disintegration happens in the work\u2019s conclusion, in the ship\u2019s cargo hold, where Brooks is joined by Dorothy Carlos on the electric cello. In this final section, a haunting combination of music and dance, Brooks calls up ghosts and ancestors from whalers and slave ships. Extended sounds emanate from their body that feel as deep as the ocean floor.<\/p>\n
Brooks\u2019s presence \u2014 otherworldly and raw \u2014 takes on a penetrating, guttural sadness in the vast cargo hold where they are seen, at first, from a distance. In a way, Brooks\u2019s idea of a decomposing dance happens before your eyes as Brooks and Carlos gradually lower the volume until their sounds and notes feel like whispers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The performance is \u201calmost becoming the whale fall,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cIt\u2019s like this decomposed dance and vocal performance. There are no words. The movement is confined to smaller spaces or our bodies actually become the whale in a sense. And the sound score is more and more ephemeral and less legible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n