23 October 2020
October 2020 Update
These are rough times to feel justified in making anything other than protest art or rallying against racism, fascism and Trump's dismantling of democracy. I've continued to address these and pandemic issues in recent work:
Weather Man 2020 was built upon Aaron Copland's angular, forceful "Piano Variations" and became a rant against climate change denial and the greed of Republicans.
Heal Ourselves is one of three short screendances inspired by tunes from composer/performer Thollem's recent album, "Hot Pursuit of Happiness".
Here Comes the World and Love is of the Essence come from the same set.
Although not explicitly political, Hangmen of Hell: Cantata BWV 199: follows last month's A Month of Goldbergs in my ongoing tribute to/worship of J. S. Bach's musical universe. The work explores Bach's more doom-laden Lutheranism and the meanings of sin as "the hangment of hell", tormenting a soul but eventually leading to joyful release. As you will see, I had fun exploiting over-the-top expressive dancing and my own painted backdrops.
In a similar manner, Wake explores the liminal state between life and death. Shot at the newly renovated Starkweather Chapel in Ypsilanti, MI, it features various personae, real and/or imagined, of the departed and the mourner.
The Man I Want to Be: (password: my manhood) is a humorous take on certain aspects of male gender identification as forms of arrested development.
Scramble Theory 101 was featured in Detroit's Screen Dance International festival last month, along with a lectue-demonstration I was invited to give as part of the festival:
Making Screendance: Thoughts on an Interdisciplinary Practice
I found this footage I recorded of former student Marcus White from 2014 while he was at University of Michigan. Marcus became a dynamic force and beloved teacher before passing away this past spring.