About this project

The Lonely Visitors, a dance theatre piece combining movement, music, and text, is structured like a poem—a series of images colliding and smashing together to reveal both the whimsical and perfidious nature of the heart. The collection of 30 short episodes ponders the depths and desires that love holds over us—from the giddiness of a favorite song to the romantic idealism of melancholy to the hurt of a collapsed relationship. Some sections are but brief glances or tender grasps that reveal desire while others consume the stage with charged partnering and athletic dancing. Each individual episode is a succinct meditation on what we hold dear.

In The Lonely Visitors, dancers share stories—with the voice and body. Non-linear in nature, the stories take shape using the dancers in simple, honest, and profound ways to lead the audience on a journey through the imagination. The messy landscape of the heart is reflected in the environment created by 7 chairs that are constantly being rearranged by the dancers. Shifting focus and defining space, the chairs aid in revealing vulnerable images and fragile relationships. The chairs can be perceived as ‘home’—a place to return, to rest, to give in before the dancers embark on a new tenuous experience.

Lucy Riner and Michael Estanich, otherwise known as RE|Dance, are bringing together seven dancers from 4 different cities to stage The Lonely Visitors during a two week intensive in Chicago this summer. We believe that the challenges of long distance collaboration breath new life into our work. Our hope is to bring new depth and understanding to our own stories and experiences as the lonely visitors we sometimes portray within our own lives.

All generous contributions made by you will assist us in obtaining rehearsal space and a stage manager as well as contributing to our production expenses and getting us on the road safely! We will present The Lonely Visitors as part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival this August!