Jack Bannerman
Choreographer and Visual Artist

Where there's smoke, There's people is a choreographic work exploring themes of distance, empathy, and observation, set against layered music and symbolic foghorn sounds. The foghorn represents a distant call for help or action, creating an emotional atmosphere. The lighting design, evolving with the work, highlights shifts between isolation and connection. Cold, frosted lighting shapes the stage, emphasizing distance, while brighter, cinematic lighting contrasts during orchestral sections. As the choreography progresses, lighting reflects vulnerability in solos and culminates in warmer, intimate lighting, enhancing the work’s narrative of observation and empathy.

Four dancers from the Palucca Hoschüle für Tanz Bachelor program explore these theme's in this work.