a body bridges past to present: intersections of dance & history @ lake fx summit + expo, gene siskel film center, 13 may 2016, 3:30-5 pm, free.
Can dance draw upon historical and archival materials to generate innovative and original artistic expression? What can historians learn from dance as an embodied mode of thinking about the significance of the past? The Seldoms and their collaborators draw upon their experiences developing and performing two recent works to address these questions. Power Goes, which premiered in 2015, uses the life and times of President Lyndon Baines Johnson to explore issues of political persuasion and change. A 2016 companion piece, RockCitizen, broadens The Seldoms’ historical inquiry to include the roles of countercultures and social movements of “the people” in making change, from the 1960s to now. Both works begin with archival research, but in each case historical sources get reworked and transformed into compelling and revealing performance.
In this multimedia talk at DCASE’s Lake FX Summit + Expo, The Seldoms discuss Power Goes (2015) and RockCitizen (2016), these two works that engage the history of the 1960s to generate cutting-edge, socially relevant dance theater. With Artistic Director Carrie Hanson, visual artist Bob Faust, sound designer Mikhail Fiksel, and historian/dramaturg Michael J. Kramer.
At the Gene Siskel Film Center, Friday, 13 may 2016, 3:30-5 pm, free.