From throb of the vast sea to the perfect stillness of a single drop, from the devastation of its absence to the destructiveness of its overabundance, from its impact on the soul to its mark on literature and culture, we cannot escape the power of water.

On February 27, 2010, Baltimoreâ??s Full Circle Dance Company presented Aqueous: Awakening our Connections to Water at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The Aqueous project was a yearlong artistic voyage by five different choreographers, each creating a wholly different work and united by their interest in water. Every piece presented at the concert was newly commissioned, and together represented the diversity of viewpoints for which Full Circle has won local and national attention.

About the Works:

Virginia-based choreographer Erica Feriozziâ??s â??The Last Dropâ? began with the swirling eddies and whooshing waves of abundance. Urging the audience to appreciate the sustaining beauty and power of water, Feriozzi then challenged viewers to ponder the dwindling and loss of this life-giving resource.

Full Circle artistic director Donna L. Jacobs explored water legends across cultures. Her dynamic and rhythmic choreography, etched with timeless images of water gods and goddesses, vividly expressed waterâ??s central place in human cultural and spiritual life.

Ohio choreographer Travis Gatling, whose lush and powerful movement style has impressed audiences around the country, drew inspiration for his new work from Kate Chopinâ??s novel The Awakening. "Thirst" explored the seductiveness of water and our fascination with it as a symbol of deep inner yearning and desire.

Inspired by the impact of both water and art on the human soul, Maryland choreographer Allison Powell created a powerful duet that was both athletic and introspective. Defying gravity and inverting the human form, Powell abandoned the limits of the solid and captured the freedom of the liquid.

Washington DC choreographer Hope Byersâ??s work reflected on the universality of spiritual cleansing and purification rituals. Exploring links between physical purification and spiritual purification, Byers called on the audience to see personal experiences of cleansingâ??such as baptismâ??as part of the larger human spiritual story.

About our Community Outreach Effort for Aqueous

Full Circle Dance Company is committed to outreach, and the Aqueous project reached beyond the stage and into the community. The matinee performance featured a guest appearance by students of Roland Park Elementary School, who had collaborated with Full Circle to create a dance about the Chesapeake Bay.