SEA CHANGE (2026)

Choreography: Jody Sperling
Composer: Matthew Burtner
6 Dancers | 4 Vocalists (The New Consort)
Premiere Date: April 24, 2026
Premiere Venue: New York Society of Ethical Culture
Duration: 22 minutes

Sea Change is a multidisciplinary, sensorial performance exploring our evolving relationship with water in response to sea level rise. Choreographed by Jody Sperling and performed by her Time Lapse Dance (TLD) ensemble, the work draws on oceanography, ecoacoustics, and breath somatics to consider how we adapt as water remakes our world.

The work was inspired by Sperling’s study of freediving and underwater dance, as well as consultations with oceanographer Dr. Larry Pratt on ocean circulation patterns. The music is by Sperling’s long-time collaborator, ecoacoustician, and climate-change composer Matthew Burtner.

This work deploys TLD’s signature costuming after performance innovator Loïe Fuller (1862-1928) which transforms and abstracts bodily motion into elemental forces. As TLD’s six dancers swirl gossamer silks into anti-gravity undulations, they move in harmony with Burtner’s aquatic music. At the premiere, the score was performed by live performed by Burtner on electronics and The New Consort Vocal ensemble.

Together the dancers and singers produce a tapestry of breath and rhythms. In the final section, Sea Change rides the ocean’s surface, or interface, as a dynamic and expanding site of elemental exchange. The choreography explores the charged state of the interface and suggests entry into a liminal transcendent space.

Sea Change was developed through Sperling’s ongoing Eco-Artist-Residency at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, a summer 2025 residency at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard, and with support from the Henrich Boell Foundation.