The stage at the Eagle Theatre in Sugar Hill will be filled with shadows coming together in various shapes as the venue welcomes the performance group Catapult.
Blending theater, dance and a sense of magic, eight dancers will collaborate using their bodies to create shapes as shadows behind a screen. Those shapes will tell various stories during the upcoming Sunday, Oct. 3, performance.
“To some degree, the shadow shapes are illusion,” said Adam Battelstein, director and founder of Catapult. “They come together a little like a magic trick. It’s kind of an improbable art form, it’s not even the dancer you’re seeing, it’s the shadow of the dancer. It is kind of a magic moment when it comes together.”
Battelstein founded Catapult in 2009 during the economic recession as a way to blend together his strengths in dance, theater and storytelling and to create a unique performance experience for audiences to enjoy.
“It was out of hope,” Battelstein said of founding Catapult. “Let’s hope for a better future.”
Since then, Catapult has appeared on season eight of the TV series “America’s Got Talent,” a televised competition created by British TV personality Simon Cowell that features amateur performers showcasing their talents in front of celebrity judges who determine which acts will advance in the competition to win a grand prize. Catapult finished the season eight competition in the top 12.
The performance group is now touring the nation, bringing its unique artform to audiences who can experience stories told without words through the wonder of shadows that take on various shapes. Those stories will feature a mom who is not a very good spy, a child who has to face bullies at school, a piece on the fall of the Berlin Wall, a story about a little girl growing up in fast motion and more.
“They’re all stories about people facing dilemmas, problems and trying to solve them,” Battelstein said of the story elements within the performance. “(The audience is) going to have fun because the stories are fun and engaging and emotional. They’re going to experience some childlike wonder, when they see these shadows forming up into things they don’t expect. This will be different from anything they’ve ever seen before.”
Tickets for the performance, which will be held from 3 to 5 p.m., are $20 to $30 and can be purchased online at eagleatsugarhill.com/event/catapult. For more information on Catapult, visit catapultentertainment.com.
If you go
- What: Catapult
- When: 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021
- Where: Eagle Theatre at Sugar Hill, 5029 W. Broad St.
- Cost: $20 to $30
- For more information: Visit eagleatsugarhill.com
