An immersive experience where the audience is given a choice: be an observer, safe within the shadows of their seats, or dare to become a performer boldly melding into the choreography. Shadows or spotlight, you will embark on a journey of transformation. All Ages and Physicalities Welcome! May 31 @ 7:30pm / June 1 @ 7:30pm / June 2 @ 3:00pm $25-$35 https://www.highwaysperformance.org/events/kybele-dance-theater-simyaci-alchemist-2024-05-31-19-30 Simaycı is Turkish for ‘alchemist’: one who magically transmutes lead into gold. Kybele Dance Theater (KDT) taps into the hidden treasures each one of us holds. Inspiring the audience by breaking the fourth wall through interaction and guidance, KDT reconnects them to their inner artist. Societal norms have made us self-conscious, holding back our creativity and weighing us down like lead. KDT will free our inner artist, turning that into gold and letting us shine for a night where all could express without shame, fear, shyness, or judgement. True immersive performance is one that the audience is physically integrated and part of the choreography and not just observing from different points of view in and around the performers. In Simyacı, the audience also performs choreography for a truly immersive and inclusive experience as dancers nonverbally direct the audience how and when to be involved. Founded in 2003 by Artistic Director and Choreographer Seda Aybay, Kybele Dance Theater (KDT) seeks to cultivate an experience that infuses theatrical and contemporary dance with Turkish socio-cultural narratives and imagery. Drawing from a diverse tapestry of experience, Aybay uses her unique multicultural approach to craft gestural movement, syncopated rhythms, and lush curves into repertoire that abstracts and amplifies the forgotten moments of everyday life; the mundane becomes powerful, seductive, and profound. Through a sophisticated lense, KDT fosters an ever evolving vocabulary including evening length programs, mixed repertory work, educational performances, and festivals. www.kybeledance.com