6' | Annie-B Parson
Curated by Chocolate Factory
Set against video material of dancers in six-foot proximities, Parson reads from a diaristic meditation on the spatial protocols that have been set for us in our new world of Covid-19 behaviors.
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From the choreographic mind, Parson deconstructs what we are asked to do physically in order to forestall illness. Parsing these protocols, she notes that spatial awareness is suddenly in the forefront for pedestrians, asking everyone, in a sense, to have the perspective of a dancer. She sets her thoughts against footage from a video of a dance she made last year when dancers entered studios together, with their bodies in close proximity. Parson teams up with video artist Deborah Johnson (aka CandyStations) who reimagines this performance footage through references to the Victorian Zoetrope, one of the earliest forms of animation and the precursor to modern cinema. The Zoetrope reminded Johnson of the codes of social distancing, as it relies on a particular structural spacing between images. Together with a plaintive song by Jack Lazar/Noah Chevron, they create an intimate video piece expressing what it’s like to live in this moment.
Artist: Annie-B Parson
Title: 6΄
Duration: 3΄ 10’’
Format of the Work: Re-purposed video of live performance
Choreography & Text by Annie-B Parson
Video Design by Deborah Johnson/CandyStations
Music by Jack Lazar and Noah Chevan
Produced by Big Dance Theater
Original recording of members of the Martha Graham Dance Company in Annie-B Parson’s “I used to love you.” Anne O’Donnell, Leslie Andrea Williams, Laurel Dalley Smith, and Xin Ying.
This artwork was created in the context of ENTER project, an initiative of Onassis Foundation. Onassis Stegi and Onassis USA give artists from all around the world 120 hours to create from home a series of new original commissions; sharing their new reality. Let’s ENTER.
