 Bronto Skylift S173XDT during Forklift Danceworks practice.
PHOTO: CARLOS CORDOVA/AUSTIN ENERGY |
Nonprofit group Forklift Danceworks will use aerial lift equipment in its orchestrated PowerUP performances on 21-22 September at the Travis County exposition centre and fairgrounds in Austin.
"Forklift Danceworks celebrates the extraordinary in the ordinary," the group says.
PowerUP will feature more than 50 electrical technicians, bucket trucks, cranes and field trucks and a set of 25 utility poles in front of an expected audience of 6,000 people.
"We make dances from daily life," says Allison Orr, who founded Forklift Danceworks in 2001 and serves as artistic director. She is an independent modern dancer and choreographer.
On the origin of the group's identity, Orr says, "My husband and I came up with the name to celebrate the working person." Her husband, Blake Trabulsi, is a graphics designer.
For the latest production, "I approached Austin Energy a few years ago" about developing a program, Orr says. "My charge is to tell the full story of power delivery." Electric utility Austin Energy serves more than 420,000 customers and a population of almost one million.
Orr is choreographing the movements to coincide with Graham Reynolds' original score, played by a string ensemble led by Austin Symphony conductor Peter Bay.
"In terms of vehicles, it looks like we will be using five 55 ft. (16.8 m) buckets, two 35 ft. (10.7 m) buckets, one 173 ft. (52.7 m) Bronto bucket and two field trucks," Orr says.
The Bronto S173XDT platform providing extended-duty telescopic capabilities was manufactured in Tampere, Finland and mounted on a cab and chassis from International Truck, a brand of Navistar Inc. Equipment maker Bronto Skylift Oy Ab is a unit of Federal Signal Corp.
"Most of the mounting for this machine was done in Waco, Texas years ago," says Alan Hoffman, Bronto US sales representative.
Previous community-based Forklift Danceworks productions occurred in venues from theatres to outdoor spaces and have included City of Austin sanitation workers, City of Austin firefighters, Venetian gondoliers and two steppers on the steps of the Texas Capitol.
The Austin-American Statesman named the large-scale trash truck-focused production as the city's top 2009 arts event. A feature-length documentary entitled "Trash Dance" received audience awards at multiple film festivals.