USA Projects

"Suspending and Other Tricks: Preliminary Research and Development” is the first stage of  my next exploration as I continue to work at redefining choreography for solo dance, and more audaciously, at redefining who dancers are and can be.  Themes that I will explore include: what makes good art; the dramatic versus the mundane (or, finding true drama within the mundane); mortality; sexual identity; and the limitations of age.  “Suspending” reflects on the art of performance, i.e., steals or “appropriates” excerpts of works from renowned and emerging artists like Sarah Michelson, Ivo Dimchev and Rebecca Patek.  Each of my works marks a transition in my life.  This project is more at the end of my life than at the beginning.  The act of creation and performance suspends mortality for a brief moment in time.  Support at this time will enable exploration of the mixed media elements, create movement vocabulary and edit video images. 

A large and flexible asymmetrical scrim will provide surfaces for front or back projection.   Elements include blending photographs, movie footage, original images, digital sound, and text into an enveloping and continually changing environment.  The environment helps me travel beyond the space I occupy, generating an emotional, if not a physical freedom. Traveling — whether actual or metaphorical — becomes synonymous for sexual empowerment.

The initial team will include video consultant Charles Dennis, fashion designer Hwa Park, composer Boris Billier and set designer Fernando Maneca.   A video of a window will fast forward to show the passage of time through changes of light and shadows, recalling three actual windows from my residency at the Firkin Crane in Cork City, Ireland. In order to replicate the windows effect, video artist Charles Dennis will create multiple images that will evoke the illusion of a room.   A found dress of tulle and gold threading will be the muse for Hwa Park, creating a likeness to a figurine in a jewelry box.   Boris Billier, a French sound installation artist, has given me several audio clips of digitally arranged sounds from international airports that will be incorporated into an ambient score.   Fernando Maneca will create drawings and models for the asymmetrical scrim to determine its feasibility.   I am very excited about exploring these elements and seeing how they fit into the puzzle of my themes.

My work is often placed at the outer limits of the defining criteria for dance. This precarious edge is what interests me and is also, I believe, what has expanded the definition of what dance is and, more importantly, is capable of being. Boundaries are shaken, blurred, and often erased in my work; my choreography eludes easy definition or quick categorization. As an older dancer I defy stereotypes—and by embracing my limitations, ideally, I will make it possible for me to perform my work till the end of my life, and to enlarge the definition and scope of who is a dancer and what we can do and explore throughout our lives.

My fundraising goal for the first stage of development of   “Suspending” will be used to cover material costs, rehearsal space and honorariums for collaborators.  In the event that the project is over funded, I will proceed to the second stage of development.  The second stage is the completion of creating elements, work with a dramaturge to explore the arch of the work and present a series of work-in-progress showings.  Thank you so much for your support.