Finding inspiration all around

“I got up this morning and all I did was take a look out through the kitchen window and see this frozen mud,” he explains. “I know that if you get on your hands and knees, there’s a mysterious universe there. It’s a frozen magical universe and I went out to take pictures of these beautiful forms. Who knows what inspiration this will spark, but this is the way it all hits me.”

Pendleton is the founder and artistic director of Momix, a company of dancer-illusionists that celebrate worlds of surrealistic images using props, light, shadow and the human body.

	If you go WHAT: Momix’s “Botanica” WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30 WHERE: Popejoy Hall, UNM campus HOW MUCH: $20-$44 at www.popejoypresents.com or www.unmtickets.com or 877-664-8661 or 925-5858 or at UNM Ticket Offices and select Albertsons locations

The company is known for its innovative stage performances. But has received worldwide attention for its national commercials for Hanes underwear and a Target ad that premiered during the airing of the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2010, as well as commissioned work for Mercedes Benz and Fiat.

Pendleton’s latest creation is “Botanica,” which makes a stop at Popejoy Hall for two performances on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30.

“Botanica” has an eclectic score ranging from birdsong to Antonio Vivaldi and it reveals nature’s changing imagery. The dances showcase flowers in bloom, going to seed and dying; vegetable, animal and mineral – all in human form – that combine and metamorphose in spectacular moving tableaux creating a total dance theater environment.

Pendleton describes it as an herbal remedy and natural aphrodisiac and it shows off the endlessly renewable energy of the performers, with costumes, projections and custom-made props and puppetry adding an extra dose of fantasy to the elixir.

He says creating “Botanica” was a collaborative effort in the studio and it took about a year of physical work.

“We found ourselves pushing each other,” he says. “It’s about planting a few seeds and then putting all the chemicals together and see how they react to each other. We’ve also got some very talented dancers that have creative ideas as well.”

As with the frozen mud, Pendleton says he welcomes all forms of inspiration.

“When I go for my daily walks, I have my recorder with me,” he says. “A lot of times, what I’m looking at creates a state of daydream for me. I can go out for a short walk and it will suddenly turn into a three-hour event. My mind wanders and I just let it. There are so many possibilities.”

Momix’s latest creation “Botanica” was inspired by nature. (Courtesy of Don Perdue)

And those walks are what inspired “Botanica.”

“Beauty comes in all forms and it’s up to me to take that inspiration and make it come to life on stage,” he says. “There are many intricacies and when they come together it can be very profound.”

In addition to being artistic director, Pendleton is also an accomplished photographer.

He has presented in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Aspen, Colo., and his images of his sunflower plants at his home in northwestern Connecticut have been featured in numerous books and articles on gardening.

“It’s important to keep pushing yourself forward in order to stay young,” he says. “My mind is never at rest and I believe that is part of the reason that I continue to produce these types of shows.”