PUTNEY — Next up in Sandglass Theater's New Visions puppetry series: Adelka Polak and her company, SOVA, with the world première of “Branches” on Nov. 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Here the human form meets object to create poetry in motion. Sculptural forms unite with live dance, sound, and visual art in this beautifully woven world of the imagination.
Combining fabrics, handmade masks, natural lines, and the moving body, “Branches” creates larger-than-life landscapes, transforming as the visual poetic narrative unfolds with each new movement.
In Sandglass's event announcement, Polak is said to form a strong collaborative team with visual artist Justin Perlman and sound artist Michael Pestel, who creates a brilliant, live soundscape for the performance.
Polak, founder and Artistic Director of SOVA Dance and Puppet Theater, is a dancer, puppeteer, mask-performer, and movement director whose work has traveled to Denmark, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Turkey.
Locally, Polak performed a short dance puppet piece entitled “Born in Clay” at Puppets in Paradise in 2009. She also performed in the duo performance of “This World, the Next, and Then the Peach Orchard” at the Puppets in the Green Mountains Festival in 2010.
She earned her B.A. in theater and cultural studies with honors from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, where she studied modern dance.
Sandglass Theater's New Visions Series, curated by Jana Zeller, features the latest work by boundary-defying artists. These adventurous new works cross-pollinate among genres and disciplines, from dance to puppetry, circus to storytelling.