Lightwire Theater brings show to China

Lightwire Theater masterminds Corbin Popp (left)and Ian Carney will bring their hit show to Beijing.

A few years ago, Ian Carney began performing with dancer Corbin Popp in the Broadway musical Movin' Out. Popp introduced the Carneys to electroluminescent wire, a thin copper wire surrounded by a layer of phosphor that glows when a current is applied to it.

The trio went on to found Lightwire Theater, blending art and science. "It's not just a dance show or a puppet show. It's a combination of dance and puppetry wrapped up in a technology that offers something visually exciting to watch," Ian Carney says.

In the beginning, they built the creatures during the day and then took the characters out at night to Central Park near their house. "We were once stopped by the police for being in the park. But when we lit up the creatures, they were so impressed that they let us stay," Ian Carney says.

Popp says the biggest difficulty is that the wires are not designed to bend repeatedly, so they break if they are twisted too much. Popp and the Carneys spent years working with the wires to create costumes that allow full movement by the dancers.

The dancers picked up the choreography quickly, but learning how to control the switches for the wires on the costumes while dancing takes time, Popp says.