On Friday, June 20 at 2 p.m. CT, the San Antonio International Airport will become the site of a rare and poetic moment: a live performance by URBAN-15 set within Christopher Janney’s solar/sound sculpture Passing Light—an installation designed to mark the exact moment of the Summer Solstice.
This annual event, choreographed and performed by URBAN-15 Artistic Director Catherine Cisneros, transforms a section of the airport’s Parking Nave into a space of ritual and reflection. Timed precisely to the solstice’s peak, the performance celebrates the longest day of the year through color, sound, and movement.
Passing Light consists of transparent, multi-colored plexiglass panels arranged to cast shifting shadows into the space below. Once a year—at exactly 2 p.m. Central Time on the Summer Solstice—these colored shadows align with a black-line grid painted on the floor. The effect lasts less than a minute, when the Sun passes directly overhead in a fleeting moment of cosmic precision.
Accompanying the light is a 56-speaker “spatial sound” composition by Janney, featuring long, resonant tones from harp, vibraphone, and acoustic guitar. The sounds bounce off the concrete surfaces of the garage, creating a reverberant experience reminiscent of music inside a cathedral.
Cisneros’ choreography responds to both the audio and the immersive, ever-shifting colors. Her movements evoke ancient rituals that acknowledged the significance of the solar zenith—ceremonial practices found across cultures, from the Aztecs and Egyptians to the Mayans and Celts. Through this performance, URBAN-15 offers a contemporary reflection on our relationship to time, place, and planetary motion.
The event is free and open to the public in person, and will also be livestreamed on URBAN-15’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
Do you have news, stories, or projects to share? We’d love to hear from you—reach out to editor@codaworks.com