What's Quixotic?
In classical ballet, dancers create highly disciplined pieces -- dynamic, living sculpture set to music.
That's not Quixotic.
The dance and percussion group Stomp makes music out of uncommon objects like keys and brooms, often with elaborate sets.
That's not quite Quixotic, either.
Blue Man Group uses music, comedy and theater to make a wild, multimedia production. Cirque de Soleil goes beyond traditional circus acts, adding extravagant, exotic costumes.
That's not Quixotic -- but it's getting close.
"Quixotic is somewhere between the ballet world and Cirque de Soleil," said Mica Thomas, co-director with Anthony Magliano of Quixotic Performance Ensemble, a Kansas City, Mo., performing arts group. "Stomp and Blue Man is some sort of inspiration."
Thomas, a 1997 Homer High School graduate, started in Pier One Theatre at a young age, eventually teaching at summer theater camps and doing much of the theater's lighting. That first work as a techie set him on a path that led from Homer to college and grad school, and eventually to working with a production Kansas City Magazine called the best performance arts group of 2008.
Thomas, 30, got his bachelor of fine arts from Southern Oregon University, Ashland, and finished course work in a master of fine arts at Pennsylvania State University, College, Pa. He's still working on his thesis, a project that got sidetracked when he went in 2003 to work with the Royal Theatre Scotland in Glasgow.
While in Homer, Thomas did lighting for Jazzline and other dance companies -- an association with dance that stayed with him through college. After finishing course work at Penn State, Thomas worked with the Kansas City Ballet in a summer program in Crested Butte, Colo. There he met his girlfriend, Aisling Hill Connor, now atmospheric director for Quixotic, who introduced him to the ensemble.
Quixotic -- it rhymes with "exotic" -- was founded by Magliano with Keelan Whitmore in 2004. Thomas started doing lighting for Quixotic in 2005 and was asked to become an artistic director in 2006. Magliano composes much of the music used in Quixotic's productions.
Photo by Philip Koenig for Quixo
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The ensemble started in old Kansas City buildings, turning run-down factories into performance art installations. More recently it has done two- or three-day runs at theaters like the Madrid Theatre. Quixotic usually does one large production each summer, and performs at corporate or other events like a 2007 New Year's Eve party at Harrod's Casino in Kansas City or a performance this year for a Garmin -- the GPS manufacturer -- national conference. Next month, Quixotic opens in Denver for DeVotCha, the music group that did the soundtrack for "Little Miss Sunshine."
While Quixotic has a core artistic group, it brings in from 30 to 100 actors, circus performers, musicians, dancers and costumers, hair and make-up artists for its productions. Talent comes from all over, including New York and Los Angeles, to be part of Quixotic.
"The art scene in Kansas City right now is amazing," Thomas said. "We've got people coming from all over the world to meet with us, to audition."
Looking at videos of its performances, Quixotic becomes a maelstrom of activity, with dancers swirling across the stage, aerialists swinging from the rafters and lighting and projected images highlighting, even echoing the action. Magliano's hypnotic, pulsing music creates an atmosphere that pulls the audience in.
"The music side is pretty large," Thomas said. "We try to make each part equally important. It's not a dance show, it's not a circus show, it's not a music concert. It shifts around."
"Our mission statement was 'the fusion of art,'" Thomas added. "We're trying to bring more art forms into the show, to make it a more cohesive show."
Quixotic puts its stage up close to the audience, with catwalks and smaller stages built out into seating. Circus technicians have built aerial props for them, and the fabricators for Frank Gehry, the architect, are building a sculpture like a metal tree that dancers and performers will hang from.
"It becomes this whole sculpture that can be interacted with," Thomas said.
A large part of Quixotic is Thomas' lighting and projection. Still and video photographs of the performers are projected onto screens around the stage. Quixotic uses graphic designers and animators to make the productions as multimedia as possible.
"We're trying to push technology as well," Thomas said.
While the shows don't have a specific plot, the performances do have a central theme. In "Emovere," performed in 2007, a violinist is the central character -- a storyteller, a guide moving through dance pieces. The character is a man void of emotion who's exposed to various expressions of emotion.
"There is a concept behind the show," Thomas said. "There is a narrative. We don't try to make the narrative literal."
Quixotic started out under the umbrella of the Urban Culture Project in Kansas City, and recently became its own nonprofit arts organization. That allows it to get grants and other foundation support.
"We're trying to build up the foundation of Quixotic so we can take it out on tour," Thomas said.
Like maybe Alaska?
"I'd love to," Thomas said. "I think it would be really fun to bring it up here."
For videos of Quixotic performances, visit www.quixoticfusion.com. Music samples are available at virb.com/quixoticfusion. Quixotic also has a My Space page at www.myspace.com/quixoticfusion.
Michael Armstrong can be reached at michaelarmstrong.@homernews.com.
