Math, sex, fairy tales, humor, death...
Formulae & Fairy Tales is a full-length work casting the life of Alan Turing, mathematical genius and World War II codebreaker, into the technicolor and mythologized ideas of his favorite film, Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. After the war, Turing was criminally prosecuted for being gay and forced into chemical castration. In 1954, he died by eating an apple laced with cyanide, an act eerily foreshadowed by Snow White.
The production places the cold, high-stakes world of mathematics, artificial intelligence, and cryptography alongside a vivid, twisted fairy tale palette of romanticized beauty; blending historical events, sexuality, gender identity, and our essential humanity. The choreography plays on binary vs. nuance, mathematical precision vs. sensual expression. The cultural, aesthetic landscape of Formulae & Fairy Tales is theatrical, with sweeping video projections and an original music score.
"A break-through show...glorious passion, sweet and undeniable."
- LA Times, "In a breakthrough show, Invertigo Dance takes a delicious bite from a forbidden apple"
"Formulae & Fairy Tales is dance theatre at its finest."
- LA Dance Chronicle, "A Beautiful Tribute to Alan Turing Through Dance, Science and Fantasy"
"The brilliant choreography of Laura Karlin, Invertigo Dance Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director, creates a dream-like, fascinating world of mathematics, artificial intelligence, and cryptography that is also a love story, and a tale that expresses great loneliness and injury."
- Diversions LA, "Sublime Dance from Invertigo Dance Theatre"
"An expansive fever dream experience..."
- LA Dance Chronicle, "Touring Turing"
Public Engagement for Formulae & Fairy Tales
Whether a short or long residency, Invertigo offers innovative options for public engagement workshops, talks, and activities. The social themes and aesthetic elements of this production are wide-ranging. Invertigo hand-tailors programs with the thematic focus and types of engagement that will best meet the interests and needs of your communities and audiences.
Vibrant Residency Options for Presenters:
- See this programming menu designed for presenters to connect to their communities.
- For an example of curriculum developed for specific communities, see the study guide Invertigo created as part of the Broad Teacher Artist Collaborative 2019 to reach 400+ high school students.
Booking
If you are interested in presenting Formulae & Fairy Tales, a full version of the show is available for your review. Please email [email protected] for booking details and a link of the show.
To review more images of Formulae & Fairy Tales click here.
To review the Technical Rider for booking a production click here.
National Dance Project Production Grant Recipient
We are honored to announce that Invertigo's Formulae & Fairy Tales is a recipient for the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project Production Grant. This grant provides essential funding for the creation and touring of dance projects through a combination of funds to be used to create the new work, general operating support, and tour subsidies for U.S. organizations that tour the new work to their communities. To learn more please visit www.nefa.org.
Formulae & Fairy Tales was one of 20 projects nationwide selected for the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
CONTACT:
Booking: Leslie Scott, [email protected]
Artistic Director: Laura Karlin, [email protected]