Pilobolus debuts in UAE with a special set inspired by the capital

What the audience sees on an enormous white translucent screen is neat, crisp silhouettes of everything from landmarks to animals, but little do they know that behind the scene “controlled chaos” unfolds.

Pilobolus Dance Theatre's Shadowland. Courtesy Pilobolus Dance Theatre

Shadowland will come to the capital this weekend as part of summer season in Abu Dhabi, complete with a narrative tweaked to include the city's landscape and traditions. Created by the American dance company Pilobolus, the 90- minute shadow-play stage production has been watched by thousands of people around the world. It began touring in 2009, after creating more than 100 elaborate narratives for companies and theatres.

What is Pilobolus?

The name has a ring to it, but the meaning is even more intriguing. The American dance company, formed in 1971, is named after – wait for it – a class of fungi that is found in herbivore dung. Yes, really. The company’s founding member Jonathan Wolken apparently was impressed by how strongly and quickly the fungus grew and felt it represented what they were trying to build.

The company follows an unconventional creative process – what the executive producer Itamar Kubovy calls “radical democracy”: a group of artists come together to sound out ideas and collectively create a narrative for a production.

“The creative process, be it in technology, business or art, functions the same way,” says Kubovy. “You have a problem to solve and you think broadly about the different ways to do that.

“When you bring a diverse group of people with different backgrounds into a room, you get a diverse perspective. You then try to select the ideas that you think are best. That is done by the entire group and is led by the directors – who become the editors to the process.”

This, he says, creates the kind of production that an audience can thoroughly enjoy.

At the Oscars

In 2007, Pilobolus wowed Hollywood at the Oscars with its shadow play. The 12-member dance troupe twisted their athletic bodies to create shadows representing that year's Academy Award-nominated films. They began with the golden statuette, and went on to penguins (Happy Feet), a bus (Little Miss Sunshine) and a stiletto (The Devil Wears Prada).

Behind the Scenes

What the audience sees on an enormous white translucent screen are neat, crisp silhouettes of everything from landmarks to animals, but little do they know that behind the scene "controlled chaos" unfolds. When the troupe performed on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the celebrity's staff went backstage to see how these shadows are created, only to find the dancers busy researching images and videos of Winfrey's dog, Sophie, whom they later recreated on the screen.

Wolken explains: "We try to use mostly body parts. Whenever we need to, we use aids. Nobody really knows what's happening back there." Body movements are set to a script by Steven Banks, the head writer of the popular cartoon series SpongeBob SquarePants, while the music is by the composer David Poe.

Shadowland in Abu Dhabi

A dozen dancers will play out the coming-of-age story of a girl who travels the world. She is chased around by a motley trio, meets a cowboy, camel and elephant, and gets to visit famous destinations. The Abu Dhabi shows will feature the emirate’s traditions and sights, including a tea ceremony and the F1 racecourse on Yas Island. The troupe has prepared a special finale for the audience in the capital.

• Shadowland is at Adnec from ­Friday to August 16. Tickets cost from Dh199 and are available at www.alchemy-project.com