DETROIT — The Chicago artist Nick Cave was playing Santa Claus. Mr. Cave, known for his Soundsuits, costume-like sculptures that blend movement and noise, had enormous boxes delivered last Saturday to local dancers, a choreographer and a D.J. rehearsing here. The surprise contents would inspire their dance performance a week later, as part of “Here Hear,” Mr. Cave’s four-month-long exhibition and free performance series throughout Detroit. Vibrant Soundsuits emerged from the boxes. “It’s wearable!” cried Erika Stowall, a dancer.

“Can you move?” the choreographer, Marcus White, asked Mike Springer, tall as a spruce in his raffia costume.

Mr. Springer spun and jumped, releasing a wave of rustles and swishes.

Mr. Cave and Mr. White’s collaboration will be staged on Sunday at the Ruth Ellis Center, which serves homeless and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The idea, Mr. Cave said, was to get “outside of the conventional ways of how we see performance and where we go to view performance.”