Spotlight, 2023
Ricardo Vilas Freire & Polina Shklovskaya at the Chicago Athletic Association (USA)

The performance Spotlight is a site-specific project on the Chicago Athletic Association's basketball court (Chicago, IL, USA). Adapting the rigid rules and structures of team sports and transforming it into a game using household props, the players perform tasks and functions following a series of instructions created by Ricardo and Polina, divided into groups: basketballers, mopper, sweepers, runners, and tapper. The arena lights were dimmed, and each participant was given a spotlight to navigate the space while carrying their duty. The game was designed to be a spontaneous experience that alters the function of the vernacular space of the American basketball court. The performers were unaware of the instructions given to each player, surprising both the audience and the participants.The piece was performed at the event Time Lapse at the Chicago Athletic Association by Ricardo Vilas Freire, Alex Bradley Cohen, Graciela González, Hasmik Arakelyan, Alberto Aguilar, Camille Casemier, Isaac Yuquan Duan, Yixiao Yao, I-Chien Chen, and Zhuyan Ye.