“Assimilating,” a solo performed by Umeda, sees him in his customary palette of black and white. Wearing all black, he maintains a full-frontal position centered against a backdrop projection (that often spills onto the floor) through most of the work. The mesmerizing projection of swirling and spiraling light particles resembles the trajectory of a distant solar system. Electronic pulses echo the cyclical movement as Umeda twists, flings, flails, and punches in starts and stops while his feet remain mostly planted in a wide stance. Frequent freezes are accompanied by silhouette lighting, eclipsing the dancing figure.

As the movement of light specks quickens and the sonic pulses speed up like rapid fire, Umeda’s motion by contrast becomes slower and more languid until he freezes. Washing over his still, black, silhouette is a suddenly inverted color field—now white and teaming with tiny black spiraling particles.

Both works were consistent with Umeda’s guiding choreographic philosophy, as stated in the press materials: “humans, objects, and nature are essentially the same . . . we are all made up of particles of light and matter.” 

Umeda’s cohesive design is an absorbing experience that sparks much reflection. Unlike the typical dance performance that elevates the performer, Umeda’s work has the quality of an intergalactic space simulation that blasts us out of the typical anthropocentric perspective. It downsizes the role of the human (dancer) as it amplifies the role of the environment—presenting a truer view of our actual relationship to the cosmos.