“100 Seconds to Midnight” is a metaphor used by the “Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists”. This group was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer and the University of Chicago Scientists who developed the first atomic weapons. The Doomsday Clock was created two years later. The imagery of the Doomsday Clock is based on total human annihilation caused by man-made technologies (midnight), and the contemporary idiom of nuclear conflagration (countdown to zero). Today we are at 90 seconds to midnight due to the war in Ukraine, the escalating war surrounding Israel, and the increase in nuclear arsenals from China, Russia and the United States, among other factors world-wide.

This is the world in which artistic director Achinta McDaniel and her associate director Jon Paul must live and create and comment. They realized this and put this show together to raise awareness and shine a light on this symbol of our times as well as the events and history which brought us to it. McDaniel wants to create hope that the people who have brought us to 90 seconds to oblivion need not be obeyed or listened to. We do not have to follow them or give them power over us. And she knows a thing or two about power dynamics and its abuses. As a South Asian-American woman, she is the daughter of Indian immigrants and has experienced firsthand the dichotomy of tradition and innovation, assimilation and standing out, having a voice and using it, being American and being othered.

On one of the towers at the Ford Theater, a huge clock is projected spinning uncontrollably towards midnight. On the face of the clock is a map of the world.

Blue 13's “100 Seconds to Midnight” - photo by Sandra Luis taken at the Ford courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Blue 13’s “100 Seconds to Midnight” – photo by Sandra Luis taken at the Ford courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic


Movement I: Vishwas
– We see how women are at the mercy of a patriarchy and have no freedom of their own. There is a betrothal between two people, but the woman sees another man, after a flirtation with him she has no choice but must do as she is bid and marry the other man. We then see her disrobe and crouch down stage left, the lights go out and it wasn’t clear whether she ended her life or meekly accepted her fate. This scene from 16th Century India was revealing in all its glory. Lighting by Brandon Baruch was lovely and perfectly matched the different sections in tone and force. Costumes by Pamella Kapoor, Nilli Sawhny, Rita Shrestha, and Achinta McDaniel were gorgeous. The elegant tunics, robes and sarees betrayed the character’s station in life and helped provide the impact of what was being asked and denied to the central young woman.

Blue 13's “100 Seconds to Midnight” - photo by Sandra Luis - taken at the Ford courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Blue 13’s “100 Seconds to Midnight” – photo by Sandra Luis – taken at the Ford courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic


Movement II: 1947
: – began with exuberant lighting, costumes and community. The clothing was neon bright and cheerful, the choreography capturing the emotional temperature of the society until the partition is enacted. It is here that McDaniel’s and Pauls’ mastery of many different dance styles comes into play. Bollywood, Kathak, hip-hop, Bhangra, jazz, plus unison phrases and more modern floor work, and ballet too (I saw the clean jeté battu upstage on the stairs), all flow seamlessly into the narrative of the whole. This is Blue 13 at the top of their game as the dancers handle all styles and transitions smoothly and without notice. The fusion has become so ingrained that there is no longer any reason to list the separate styles in their own right. This is simply Blue 13 doing what it does best and telling one hell of a story at the same time. Unlike so many other choreographers today, McDaniel does not shy away from narrative. She is interweaving two landmark events of 1947- the creation of the Doomsday Clock and the Partition of India and Pakistan. And adding her current concerns for the fate of the planet through careless leadership by powerful (power hungry?) men who are disenfranchising women from having any decisions or effect on the many factors/issues accelerating humanity towards extinction. Music and sound composition by Reena Esmail and Nina Shekhar was riveting, powerful and emotive. Their choices throughout the evening highlighted the seriousness of the material and added to the political impact of what we were seeing.

Ali.Carreras_Ryley.Clement_Presley.Hawk_Felisya.SG_Kaya.McAfee_photographed.by.Slade.Segerson.at.the.ford.courtesty.of.the.Los.Angeles.Philharmonic

Ali Carreras, Ryley Clement, Presley Hawk, Felisya SG_Kaya McAfee – photographed by Slade Segerson at the Ford courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic


Movement III: Present:
– leads up to the moment of midnight on the clock through all of the ills currently at work in the world and the U.S. in particular. McDaniel’s co-mingling of India’s past with the pronouncements of today caused her to recognize a current of threats to women in particular. Namely the overturning of Roe vs Wade along with the upswing of violence against women in many countries. She says, “My new work, 100 Seconds to Midnight traverses three different times, the 16th Century, the year 1947, and present day. It investigates threats to women in particular and goes a step further to interrogate our historic duty to country, to male figures like gods, fathers, and husbands”. There is a group of women in the third section who are against the freedom to decide and vote and own their own individual destinies. These were represented by wearing black lace costumes and worked to undermine the empowerment of fellow females, instead embracing the patriarchy. This is sadly all too true today as it was in the 16th Century. Women today must struggle against their own sex as well as the patriarchy and the historic drag of tradition in order to take control of their own lives and now, because Men have screwed it up, the fate of humanity. The message was loud and clear, artfully rendered and entertainingly packaged. An illuminating night of dance theater which made this participant want to know more about the Doomsday clock, the sweep of historic events leading up to 90 seconds until midnight, and what to do to assuage that not inevitable outcome.

For more information about Blue 13 Dance Company, please visit their website: https://www.blue13dance.com/


Written for LA Dance Chronicle by Brian Fretté

Featured image: Blue 13’s “100 Seconds to Midnight” – photo by Sandra Luis taken at the Ford courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic