HQ Review: “Preparing to Orbit” by Big Plate Dance

Last Sunday afternoon I, along with a couple of dozen other audience members, found ourselves under the dim blue lights of the The .ZACK Theater walking together in a wide circle. Chairs were staggered in disjointed rows around us as we encircled the room, and above us a stage, empty and dark, loomed. Music coming from beyond the circle of chairs as walkers ebbed and flowed; electronic and atmospheric. We picked our way around the room, avoiding several large pillars that intersected the carpeted space, led in this peculiar game of orbit by five dancers in white jumpsuits who looked around at us with reassuring smiles. Eventually, chairs around the circle began to fill, a shift likely set off by one of the dancers, and the game became more akin to musical chairs. A slight tinge of anxiety was introduced: “Who would be the last one walking?” This group activity served as the opening of Preparing to Orbit, a dance performance presented by Big Plate Dance as part of the STL Fringe Festival on August 18th.