Program B
Mixed Rep
(four live performances + 1 short dance film)
evening length
All pieces choreographed by Keith A. Thompson
Mat-ur-a-tion (11 minutes)
Excerpt from the Love Alone Anthology Project (TBD)
The Negro Mother - Short Film (4 minutes)
Undeniable Traits (15 minutes)
INTERMISSION
Axioms Between Frames in Time (25 minutes)
Mat-ur-a-tion (trio)
“Maturation” refers to the process of reaching a state of full development. In the context of physical activity, it’s important because it affects an individual’s readiness to engage in and respond to training. Physical preparedness is the level of fitness and readiness one has to perform a specific activity or sport. It involves developing a base level of strength, endurance, and skill to safely and effectively participate in more demanding exercises or performances.
In developing this work, Thompson focused on three things surrounding 'a place of maturity': physicality, preparedness and relentlessness.
In dance, physicality is crucial, as the art requires a unique combination of strength, flexibility and technical skill. A dancer must always remain physically prepared to meet the demands of both their training and their performances, both of which frequently involve repetitive and even strenuous movements.
In this context, relentless could refer to the continuous and persistent effort to improve in dance, pushing through challenges in the quest for personal excellence. Such a high level of commitment and determination to achieve one's goals in dance, regardless of obstacles, inspires an incessant quality.
Excerpt from the Love Alone Anthology Project (TBD)
A selected solo, duet, or trio from the suite of dance/theater pieces collectively known as the Love Alone Anthology Project, a multi-disciplinary performance inspired by the poetry of AIDS activist Paul Monette (1945-95). Galvanized by his powerful 1988 volume “Love Alone: 18 Elegies for Rog”, written as his lover died senselessly during the height of the American AIDS epidemic, danceTactics interprets and embodies these stream-of-conscious monologues into short dance/theater performances that may be performed as a whole as well as a selection of individual “chapters”. The final expression of the project–a suite of short solos, duets, and trios performed by men of multiple generations and sexual identities–are designed to be presented in multiple contexts and for multiple communities, emphasizing our common struggles as well as our common humanity.
The Love Alone Anthology Project is choreographed & directed by Keith A. Thompson. Performed by Shawn Brush, Clarence Brooks, Aidan Feldman, and Brendan McCall. The project features visual art by Robert Flynt, lighting by Joe Levasseur, graphic media design by Lauren Parrish, and original music by Albert Mathias, Maesa Pullman & Dalal Bruckmann.
“The Very Same” from the Love Alone Anthology Project
The Negro Mother (solo)
Inspired by the poem of the same name by Langston Hughes, The Negro Mother is a short dance film created collaboratively between danceTactics company member Nicole McClam and choreographer Keith A. Thompson.
The piece is about the angst of Black women, and in particular Black mothers, whose courage and strength has endured for generations.
Undeniable Traits (trio)
Undeniable Traits is a study about, and the witnessing of, moving vocabulary: the shifting relations that are impossible to deny, along with the particular characteristics, qualities, or tendencies that someone or something has.
This trio examines characterized movement invention, vocabulary, and material that relates to or differs from each other, playing between common modalities.
Music: “Honor”, “Outro Shopping Trolly”, “Introduction,” and “Nothingness and Summer”: all composed by Hayden Calnin; “Time Difference” composed by Shane Koyczan.
INTERMISSION
Axioms Between Frames in Time (quartet)
Axioms Between Frames in Time premiered in 2017 at Dock 11 in Berlin, Germany, as the culmination of a two-part residency facilitated by LaborGras.
Correlations between choreographic and cinematic processes–how they are similar, how they are identical to one another–served as the foundational blueprint in constructing this piece. The stage becomes a kind of playground for the dancers, who flow in and out of a tangle of grids, tableaux, and fractured narratives.
“Just as film can create new storylines based on a sharp jump-cut or an edit within the film,” Thompson says, “I want to question how that same approach could be applied to choreography. By pretending that the dance was a silent short film, I was able to interrogate my own impulses for making creative decisions, as well as to open up new possibilities that I may not have originally considered.”
Contact:
Kristopher MacDowell, KMP Artists -
Brendan McCall, Company Manager for danceTactics -
