Public Art in Motion

Kinesis Project’s free dance performances hit downtown and the waterfront

Two people wearing colorful, translucent fabric walk on grass near a body of water, with long pieces of fabric trailing behind them.

Photo by Hisae Aihara

If you’re downtown this week, don’t miss one of the best things about living in the city: spontaneous, free public art in the middle of Seattle. Kinesis Project dance theatre is transforming Harbor Steps Staircase Plaza and the new Overlook Walk into its stage, bringing large-scale, site-specific performances to the waterfront — and anyone can stop and watch.

The New York City and Seattle-based company, known for its intimate, outdoor performances, opens its summer Seattle run, Bridge Matter/The Reach, this Sunday, July 20.

Led by choreographer Melissa Riker, the company is teaming up with local musicians for four free shows between July 20 and 26. Each performance blends dance and live, improvised music, with public spaces acting as both set and structure.

Tiered wooden seating with integrated lighting, covered by colorful fabric, doubles as public art, surrounded by urban landscaping and modern buildings in the background.

Rehearsal at Harbor Steps Staircase Plaza, where Kinesis Project dancers prepare their site-specific work for downtown Seattle.

Photo by Melissa Riker

The series opens Sunday, July 20, at 4 p.m. at Harbor Steps Staircase Plaza, across from the Seattle Art Museum. The next show is July 22 at 6 p.m., also at Harbor Steps Staircase Plaza. On Friday, July 25, the dancers move to Overlook Walk, directly above the Seattle Aquarium, for an 8:30 p.m. performance timed with sunset over the Sound. The final show returns to Harbor Steps on July 26 at 6:30 p.m.

While you can watch from anywhere, Riker recommends the Western Avenue base of the steps or the Post Alley level — the designated ADA-accessible spot. There’s also elevator access from First Avenue.

Bridge Matter/The Reach is inspired by geology. It’s described by Kinesis Project as a “dance of care, echoes and how our very human ways of bridging our ‘cracks’ parallel the Earth’s processes.” The work continues the dance theatre’s collaboration with geologists Dr. Missy Eppes and Dr. Stephen Laubach.

Each performance will be a little different. All the music is improvised live with the dancers, with a rotating lineup of musicians throughout the run. Not all will perform at every show, but expect some mix of trumpeter Steph Richards (a UW faculty member known for her experimental work), saxophonists Kate Olson and Neil Welch (both familiar names in Seattle’s improv scene), and oboist and pianist Natalie Twigg, known for blending classical music with visual storytelling.

Costumes are by Rebecca Kanach, in collaboration with visual artist Celeste Cooning.

Kinesis Project has been creating outdoor performances across the U.S. since 2005. Seattle’s waterfront has become something of a second home for the company, which also performs on Vashon Island.

All performances are free. Details and viewing tips can be found here.