From the Latin for ‘now’, IAM (ee-yam) is a story told through dance and light: an immersive performance and installation about perspectives in pandemic times. IAM follows the story of the pandemic through four different material realms, from molecular to cosmic.

In Dance of the Molecules a human-viral dance unfolds in the multi-million year running tale of our enmeshment.  The first act of IAM tells the story of human and viral enmeshment in the molecular realm. The dancers play molecular characters who are compelled by forces of attraction.  When they fit together perfectly, a cascade of events is triggered. There is an astonishing beauty to be found in the molecular realm that exists in contrast to the fear and suffering we are experiencing in the human realm as a result of the current pandemic. Yet this molecular materiality is what we are.  We cannot be separated from it, from the fabric of nature.

Credits

Director:  Radha Chaddah
Choreographer:  Allie Blumas, Open Fortress
Composer:  Dan Bédard
Director of Photography:  Henry Sansom
Editor:  Trevor Blumas
Costumes: Call and Response Clothing
Production Designer:  Radha Chaddah
Coronavirus: Allie Blumas
Ace-2 Receptor, Ribosome Lee Gelbloom
Production Manager:  Jaclyn Blumas
Assistant Director:  Jaclyn Blumas
Colourist:  Marc Boucrot
Visual Effects Consultant:  Ryan Webber
Camera Assistant:  Darek McKeon
Documentarian:  Dave Marcus
Caterer:  Soleil Décaudin
Producers:  Radha Chaddah, Jaclyn Blumas
Executive producers:  Under 5 Studio, Merely Players
Associate Producers: Porch Media, Call and Response

Molecular Models:
PDB ID: 6X29; 6X2A
Henerson, R., Acharya,

PPDB ID: 6M17Renhong Yan, Yuanyuan Zhang, Yaning Li, Lu Xia, Yingying Guo, Qiang Zhou.

PDB ID: 6YYT
Hillen, H.S., Kokic, G., Farnung, L., Dienemann, C., Tegunov, D., Cramer,

P.PDB ID: 6ZP4
Matthias Thoms, Robert Buschauer, Michael Ameismeier, Timo Denk, Hanna Kratzat, Timur Mackens-Kiani, Jingdong Cheng, Otteo Berninghausen, Thomas Becker, Roland Beckmann

Special Thanks to:
Maya Chaddah
Vijay Chaddah
Afua Forson
Kaya Marcus
Epson Canada
Jenny Douangmixay
Epson USA
Steve James
RCSB Protein Data Bank
Rachel Kramer Green
Maria Voigt

Produced with financial support from:
Under 5 Studio
Merely Players
Canada Council for the Arts
Toronto Arts Council 

Filmed in Toronto, Canada
© Radha Chaddah