Client

Overview

BEE DANCE is a whimsical and inviting art installation in the form of two gigantic Dancing Bees, their legs entwined and their heads touching in a bee kiss. It celebrates one of the most fascinating examples of communication in the natural world.

When forager bees find nectar and pollen they return to the hive and perform an intricate dance routine known as the ‘waggle’ dance to communicate the distance and direction of the food resources to the worker bees. Honeybees also do a ‘tremble’ dance, which recruits receiver bees to collect nectar from returning foragers. The returning bees transfer nectar from their mouths into the mouths of other bees repeatedly – the bees’ kiss – and the process gradually extracts moisture from the nectar and produces honey.
Dance language is also used to communicate the location and quality of sites for nesting and reproduction. Bees even produce a kind of ‘Mexican Wave’ resembling a ripple across the comb when they perceive a threat by arching their bodies and flicking their wings.

22 ft high x 26 ft wide, the Bees are made of tubular steel powder-coated bronze, but on their dancing feet they wear gleaming copper ballet shoes with copper ribbons.

Goals

Bee Dance was first created for Burning Man in 2019. The Mission of Burning Man Arts is to change the paradigm of art from a commodified object to an interactive, participatory, shared experience of creative expression. The making of Bee Dance, for Burning Man 2019, was in itself a shared experience of creative expression with a close partnership between highly skilled craftsmen in Reno and a London-based artist and architect.
On playa Bee Dance clearly welcomed Burners to explore and climb and play. As with previous projects for Burning Man, unplanned and inventive interactivity unfolded on and around the installation because it was so inviting and self-expression and immediacy are welcomed and encouraged there. The unexpected nature of the Bees’ beautiful copper ballet shoes also inspired Burners to dance and perform.
One of the prime goals of the piece was to draw attention to the importance of bees to humans and the dangers they currently face. On long term display in Reno since 2020, Bee Dance continues to share this message.

Process

Working from the original hand drawings by the artist Andrea Greenlees, Josh Haywood of Hylemo produced a detailed 3D model, 2D CAD layout and digital visualizations for master steelworker Andy Tibbetts to fabricate Bee Dance in Reno.

Additional Information

In 2020 Bee Dance was installed on the Neon Line on 4th St in Reno NV, where it can continue to be visited by day and by night. This installation reminds us that there is nothing more marvellous than that which already occurs in nature. It also serves to remind visitors and passers-by of the crucial role played by honeybees in our own survival, at a time when the world bee population is declining.