Music, art and dance performance to take the stage in Sudbury

Morning North8:2612 X 12 X 12 - unique art experience

12 X 12 X 12 will feature 12 movements of a piece of music, while 12 students create artwork and 12 dances are performed to the music. We spoke with one of the dancers, one of the artists and the percussionist performing the music to find out more.

A unique art exhibit featuring music, visual art and dancing is set to take the stage in Sudbury, Ont.

12 x 12 x 12 will feature 12 movements of a piece of music, while 12 students create artworks and 12 dances are performed to the music.

"The idea came from a performance I attended a long time ago in Nova Scotia," Jan Buley, the coordinator of the production said.

"A wonderful artist by the name of Holly Carr painted on silk while a musician performed in an art studio. It was magical to watch this unfold."

Buley contacted Sudbury percussionist Ian Gibson to see if he wanted to get involved in doing a similar performance in this city. From there, calls were made to Sudbury Secondary School students Sam Grano, a dancer, and Deshawna Webb, a painter.

The music, performed on a glockenspiel by Gibson, is Bell Canons, composed by Robert Morris. The 12 movements in the piece represent the 12 months of the year.

"Every month has a piece composed for it," he explained.

"The cool thing is that the rhythm in every movement is exactly the same, it's only the notes that change. It's unique how that just by changing the notes, you can get a different representation."

"So March will sound completely different than January," he added.

The performance will take place Saturday evening at the Ernie Checkeris Theatre at Thorneloe University on the Laurentian University campus. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets cost $12.

On December 1, a showing of the finished paintings and a repeat performance of Bell Canons will be showcased at Vale's Living with Lakes Centre.