Lunar Retreat performances will premiere September 9-20, 2026 at Leonard Pearlstein Gallery presented by the FringeArts festival.
Lunar Retreat is an interactive, multi-sensory performance inspired by the gradual distance growing between the Moon and Earth. This immersive journey invites audiences to wander, witness, and reflect on how we move through care, loss, and transformation—both individually and collectively.
Created by choreographer Nichole Canuso in collaboration with ocean explorer and visual artist Rebecca Rutstein, experimental sound designer Bobby McElver, set designer Anna Kiraly, video designer Kate Freer and visionary cast of performers, Lunar Retreat opens a space for poetic, playful, and communal connection with the shifting rhythms of our planetary bodies. Lunar Retreat reflects on our deep evolutionary ties to the ocean and the moon, reminding us that we are all interconnected with the natural world.
Inspired by the gravitational push and pull between the Earth’s ocean and the Moon, Lunar Retreat is an experience built upon gentle invitations, individualized prompts, and communal activities wherein the audience is offered opportunities to engage along their own chosen path and move at their own pace.
Separate from the performances, in the lead up to the premiere, we are offering Lunar Retreat workshops open to the public in a range of locations throughout Philadelphia. More about the workshops here.
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Past Residencies and Showings:
June – July, 2022 | Artist Residency, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
October, 2022 | Artist Residency, Subcircle, Biddeford, ME
April 22 – May 22, 2025 | Artist Residency and work in-progress showings, Bogliasco Center, Italy
July 28 – August 7, 2025 | Artist Residency and work in-progress showings, Subcircle, Biddeford, ME
August 25 – September 7, 2025 | Technical Residency and work in-progress showings, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Tivoli, NY
January 28- February 7, 2026 | Technical Residency and work in-progress showings, FringeArts, Philadelphia, PA
April 21 – May 9, 2026 | Artist Residency and work in-progress showings, Kayenta Cultural Park, Kayenta, UT
June 1 – 22, 2026 | Artist Residency and work in-progress showings, Lower Manhattan Cultural Center’s Arts Center on Governors Island in NYC