A Tonal Caress (2018)
Photos by David Newkirk and Jeffrey Juip
This site-specific and interdisciplinary performance explored the possibilities and limitations of human communication by integrating choreography, American Sign Language, Auslan, rhythm, and poetry. Staged at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City, UT, and created in collaboration with Australian Deaf poet and performer Walter Kadiki, the work explored how meaning moves between language, gesture, touch, rhythm, and the body, and how these forms can create connections across different modes of perception. In response to an increasingly divided sociopolitical landscape, the work considered communication not simply as the exchange of information, but as a physical and relational practice—one that requires attention, translation, and vulnerability. Sign language and choreography became parallel systems of movement, transforming language into spatial architecture and gesture into an opportunity for connection. The work sought to create a shared communicative space for Deaf and hearing audiences, foregrounding the body as a site where language, identity, and collective experience intersect.
Choreographer/Artistic Director: Charlotte Boye-Christensen
Production Coordinator/Executive Director: Nathan Webster
Concept: Nathan Webster, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Gary Vlasic
Deaf Poet/Performer: Walter Kadiki
Performers: Jo Blake, Sydney Petitt, Liz Ivkovich, A.J Kaumavae, Nic Cordy, Kelian Meyer, Kevin Jateff, Jim Derrick, Gary Vlasic, Todd Allen
Technical Director/Lighting Designer: Cole Adams
Sound Design: Adam Day, Charlotte Boye-Christensen
Sound Engineer: Adam Day
Video: Jan Andrews
Voice: David Kranes
Hair and Makeup: Stephanie Ericson, Stephen Millis, Elisa Delgado, Rikki-Lee Thomas, Brittany Bottari, Stephanie Ramirez
Australian Sign Language Interpreters: Karen Clare, Mark Quinn
American Sign Language Interpreters: Heather Jensen, Shaunie Dennison