I just went to write a review.

Some time later I was lying on the floor in a dark room. Only black light. Above, dancers whirled neon-laced hula-hoops and fiberoptic rainbow wands. They wore tight black suits with fringy neon epaulettes.

A woman behind me wailed operatically. The video projection on the wall had us sailing through space.

I stood up and joined a circle of strangers, really nice strangers. There were hundreds of these balls on the floor. We each held two in our hands. We all made the same motions, a spontaneous routine. It reminded me of morning exercises at church camp. Sort of like that.

I don’t want to give too much away. But I was experiencing The Great Mystery.

The Great Mystery is a collaborative art project conceived by Jackie Latendresse, director of Free Flow Dance, and performance artist Adrian Stimson.

It brings together local dancers, a live DJ, spoken word, video, musicians and a contact juggler.

“It’s part performance, part participation, part party!” said Latendresse.

Latendresse and Stimson are longtime participants (you don’t attend, you participate) of the Burning Man Festival. Since 1986, for one week of each summer, people from all walks of life create a temporary community in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

The week ends with the ritual burning of a giant effigy and participants must agree to leave behind no trace of their activity. There are no garbage bins, no grocery stores. The festival is known for its principles of participation, immediacy and communal effort.

Stimson has participated in Burning Man for 11 years. He says what he continues to take away from the experience is “the idea of ephemera.”

“Life is brief. The encounters we have are brief,” he said.

“For me, the festival is about artistic renewal. And it’s a lot of fun,” said Latendresse.

Together, they are bringing the spirit of Burning Man to Saskatoon. They describe The Great Mystery as a fusion of Burning Man and Blackfoot creation mythology.

Stimson is a Saskatoon-based artist from Siksika Nation and a sessional instructor at the University of Saskatchewan. He explained what “the great mystery” means in Blackfoot culture: “It’s part of our cosmology and creation mythology. It’s about the idea that we come from somewhere, but we don’t know. That’s a huge space to play in.”

Play and mystery in mind, Latendresse and Stimson gathered ideas from a diverse group of Saskatoon artists. The result is a three-hour interactive experience.

The event takes place at the Refinery at 609 Dufferin Ave. where the normal theatre setting is transformed. With traditional seating removed, the distance between performers and audience collapses.

Stimson greets you in a buckskin tunic beaded by his grandmother. You are given a survival kit containing fractal glasses and an introduction to the event. From there, it’s pretty much up to you.

“We want people to come with an open mind, prepared to get involved,” said Latendresse.

Under black light, dancers flit around in spectacular costumes. They act as guides in an artificial universe.

Participants, too, are encouraged to dress in costume. If it glows, great. And you can contribute to the project in any way you like.

“Far too often we want to be entertained,” said Stimson. “Here you are within the environment itself.”

The project unfolds as a string of different interactive performances. Although it’s scripted and thematically cohesive, it feels spontaneous, almost improvised.

“Everyone — their voice, their body — is involved and I don’t want to control that too much,” Stimson explained. “This is about being in the present. It’s what I love about performance art: inclusion, spontaneity, the unknown.”

Obviously, The Great Mystery is a new sort of event for the city.

“People around Saskatoon can be a little nervous about trying something new,” said Latendresse. “We’re hoping they will take a chance on it.”

“It forces people out of their comfort zones,” added Stimson.

I can attest to that: not even a journalist would sit in the corner.

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Photo: Supplied