A frame through bodies move

Program Notes

"A frame through bodies move" explores connections between the mind and the physical, where moments shift between the subconscious and conscious. Through multi-sensory forms, the work seeks to answer poet Alice B. Fogel's question, "What if it's like this, only without the body?" Landscapes of an existential world weave together fragmented text with fleeting dream-like moments, emphasizing self-reflection and a shared human experience. There is a continual play between floating, surreal qualities with a grounding connection to the body and the physical experience. From a choreographer’s perspective, Fogel’s question "What if it's like this, only without the body?" poses an impossibility. To solve this puzzle, depictions of the human body that sought to transcend it such as religious figures, including Madonnas and Saints, became a point of departure. The consideration of the body as a piece of architecture, too, was an important stepping stone in the choreographic process. What if the body was stripped of its more fleeting qualities such as emotions, age and politics? Perhaps there would be a space, massive like a church or cathedral, that we’d enter in order to marvel and receive. Text excerpts from: the Tao Te Ching from chapter 14 | “Continuities” by Walt Whitman | "Variation 17: Like Waking" from Interval by Alice B. Fogel. Copyright © 2015 by Alice B Fogel. Interval (Schaffner Press, 2015); with permission.