Live Arts Miami Blends Art, Immersive Installations and Tech at Superblue

“Flowers and People, Cannot be Controlled but Live Together, Transcending” (Photo courtesy of Superblue Miami)

Calling it a testament to the “power of collaboration” and “the transformation nature of art,” Kathryn Garcia, executive director of Live Arts Miami, says a partnership between the organization and experimental art hub, Superblue Miami in Allapattah, is meant to be an adventure, both for the artists and the audience.

The experience, which will fuse live arts and immersive installations and technology takes place at various times on Saturday, Aug. 12 and Sunday, Aug. 13 and on Saturday, Aug. 19 and Sunday, Aug. 20.

Garcia says it is a new kind of art experience that combines dance and world music in an immersive art setting.

“I think it’s good practice to get ‘out of your box’ as often as you can. Trying something new, experimenting – it takes you on a journey outside of the familiar which can lead you to some really beautiful places if you are open to the adventure,” says Garcia.

Live Arts Miami is part of Miami-Dade College’s Cultural Affairs division.

The series begins on Saturday, Aug. 12 with a performance by choreographer Mike Tyus, along with collaborator Luca Renzi. Tyus has worked with Cirque du Soleil and joined Pilobolus Dance Dance Theater in 2013 as well as is one of the founding members of Jacob Jonas The Company. His work combines circus theater, acrobatics, ballet and Greco-Roman wrestling, originating from techniques and styles from his experience.

The Live Arts Miami-Superblue experience is set against the backdrop of Superblue’s “Pulse Topology” exhibit, an installation created by Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer known for his participatory installations. Consisting of 3,000 suspended light bulbs, Lozano-Hemmer’s works are activated by participants’ real-time biometric data such as their heartbeats, breaths, voices or fingerprints.

“Pulse Topology,” an installation by Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. (Photo courtesy of Superblue Miami)

According to Shantelle Rodriguez, Director of Experiential Art Centers at Superblue, which opened in Allapatah in 2021, the space invites visitors to participate actively in completing the artwork, adding an engaging dimension to the overall artistic encounter.

Rodriguez says the exhibitions are constantly evolving and meant to offer visitors a myriad of perspectives in the center’s four rooms. “We often say there are four rooms and 1,000 ways to experience them.”

She says that with the addition of Live Arts Miami, the works will activate in a new way . . . “taking audiences on journey, blurring the lines between performer and spectator, and creating an intimate and transformative encounter with these works.”

There is potential, she says, in integrating Live Arts’ performances with their exhibitions.

“The combination of the immersive installations with added elements of music and dance will be a feast for the senses,” says Garcia.

“Universe of Water Particles and Flowers and People.” (Photo courtesy of Superblue Miami)

Tyus says he is excited to experience what Lozano-Hemmer has created. “I imagine that it will be the perfect setting for the work as our heartbeat will elevate throughout the performance and will constantly affect the way the lights pulse. Aesthetically speaking it will transport the audience into another world – one of light movement and sound.”

The following weekend, Tyrus will return to the avant-garde art hub with an ensemble of Miami-based dancers. Within the vast teamLab 3D exhibition titled “Between Life and Non-Life,” they will interlace intricate patterns and mesmerizing formations. Each performance will be tailored to complement the specific exhibition and its sensory activations, announce the organizers.

“Between Life and Non-Life” features several works by the interdisciplinary collective of artists, programmers, CG animators, mathematicians, and architects fascinated by humans’ engagement with the natural world. In the interconnected digital works, users are meant to see, in real-time, their impact on nature, whether that be changing the spray of a digital waterfall or stepping on rendered flowers that wither and die.

Tyus says that his ambition is  to explore novel avenues of movement creation, “and find unique ways to tumble, ripple, push, fall, and fly through space, using our extensive partnering background to combine human bodies in a way that ignites curiosity and wonder.”

The series will also feature a concert by Jobarteh, who comes from a lineage of West African Griots. A virtuoso on the kora, a traditional West African string instrument, and with a soul-stirring voice, she will also perform in the settings of the “Pulse Topology” installation.

“I hope we’ve been able to create something extraordinary, a one-of-a-kind experience that audiences will remember, one that will transport them out of the ordinary into something spectacular,” says Garcia.

WHAT: Live Arts Miami at Superblue

WHERE: Superblue Miami, 1101 N.W. 23rd St., Miami.

WHEN: Mike Tyus Dance in “Pulse Topology” exhibit: noon, 2, 4 and 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 12 and Sunday, Aug. 13. Also, 1, 3 and 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 19 and Sunday, Aug. 20; Mike Tyus and Company Group Dance in teamLab exhibit, noon, 2, 4 and 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 19 and Sunday, Aug. 20. Sona Jobarteh Concert: 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 19.

COST:  For Mike Tyus show, tickets start at $39 for adults , and $32 for children (ages 3-12) at superblue.com 

For Sona Jobarteh, tickets start at $50 at liveartsmiami.org and eventbrite.com

INFORMATION: 786-697-3405 or superblue.com

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