Here Rests Peggy, 10/22/10

-->

Ivy Baldwin's Here Rests Peggy at the Chocolate Factory

http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/blog/performance/here-rests-peggy/910/

Ivy Baldwin, "Here Rests Peggy." Photo by Nafis Azad.

Ivy Baldwin’s latest work,Here Rests Peggy, refines and condenses many of the fascinating things we’ve seen previously from the choreographer. It runs through Oct 30 at theChocolate Factory, which is a perfect sized venue for the work. While it’s interesting to know that the creation of Here Rests Peggy was inspired by Baldwin’s residency in Italy, German Expressionist film, and the life of Peggy Guggenheim, it is possible to enjoy the piece knowing none of this. Yet the notes of old world formality and displaced drama connote an enticing exotic world performed pitch-perfectly by Baldwin, Katie Workum, Lawrence Cassell, and Eleanor Smith.

Selective Memory at the Chocolate Factory, 9/9/10

-->

Brian Rogers and Madeline Best's Selective Memory at the Chocolate Factory

http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/blog/performance/selective-memory-at-the-chocolate-factory/872/

I’ll admit it—I have the attention span of a flea, painstakingly cultivated from years of tv, multi-tasking, and computer work. So when I sat down to watch Brian Rogers’ and Madeline Best’sSelective Memory at the Chocolate Factory last night (through Sep 18), it took a whole lot of concentration to watch the first 20 minutes, which primarily features Best’s face projected onto a horizontal, door-sized panel that hangs in front of her cameo as she stands in one place, shifting her head angle very slightly every now and then. Best (director of photography, creation, performance, choreography and video) stands in the cup of a seamless, white, omega-shaped scrim. Rogers (concept, direction, sound) sits at a computer to one side, working controls, proximate enough to be in one’s field of vision as he focuses intently on Best and casually sips from a drink.

At one point, that side of boredom, this stillness seeped into my bones, as it seemed to do for the entire SRO audience, to the extent that all movement—coughing, throat clearing, and paper rustling—ceased and time stood still, or convincingly felt like it. In the concentrated quiet, details emerged. Best’s face gradually enlarged, as cuts between two cameras swapped the slightly differing angles onscreen. (She has two earrings in each ear, a nose ring, and a tattoo on one ankle, for starters.) Just as I’m counting her jewelry, she starts to stare at us with now huge eyes, even though her actual head is obstructed. At first it’s unnerving, but then I thought, she’s looking into a camera, not at us. And yet the effect was startling, as if she finally realized that she was being watched and decided to push back.

Alchemy and Ghosts, 2/24/09

-->

Brian Rogers' redevelop (Death Valley) at Chocolate Factory and Doug Varone's Alchemy at Joyce Theater.

http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/blog/performance/alchemy-and-ghosts/677/

Watching a dance can sometimes leave me wondering why the choreographer created it. Often it’s during a “pure dance” work that doesn’t offer anything new, even if the technique is solid and the dancers are skilled (as is nearly always the case in New York City). Sometimes, form is enough, sometimes not. But two programs – redevelop (Death Valley) by Brian Rogers, andAlchemy, by Doug Varone – focus on important subjects that provide much context to work with.

Redevelop, at the intimate Chocolate Factory(where Rogers is artistic director) in Queens through Feb 28, concerns myriad ideas of gentrification and the inexorable displacement of longtime residents. The primary set pieces are modular plastic sheets suspended on wires by hooks, reminiscent of the building’s industrial roots. The semi-translucent panels obstruct, catch images, and are removed to allow us to see the action beyond. The work begins with a video of a man discussing local life from decades ago. The performance is like a poem comprising all different elements — hardware/building bits are illuminated slowly and magically; mysterious and mostly obstructed movements repeat; sounds, like wind chimes, haunt the air.

Dance Off the Beaten Path, 10/2/08

-->

Dance at CPR, Chocolate Factory, Joyce Soho

http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/blog/film/dance-off-the-beaten-path/624/

It’s not exactly news that space in New York is at a premium, particularly for space-hungry ventures like dance studios and performance venues. So it is with special interest that a few spaces off the beaten path have offered distinctive, thoughtful shows in the last few weeks. CPR – Center for Performance Research inaugurated its Williamsburg space with work by French artist Christian Rizzo (presented by Chez Bushwick with FIAF), Baryshnikov Arts Center hosted the reprise of the well-received Rammed Earth by Tere O’Connor, and Joyce Soho is showing the fruits of a collaboration between Wally Cardona and Rahel Vonmoos.

CPR, founded by Chez Bushwick’s Jonah Bokaer and choreographer John Jasperse, offered a glimpse of French artist Rizzo’s conceptual work. A storefront room is devoted to his installation, 100% Polyester (video below), in which two sheer nightgowns joined at the sleeves dandle from hangars, tossed by the breezes from multiple fans. Absence, presence, life, death are all hinted at. A video self-portrait Rizzo made with Caty Olive consists of video portraits of other dancers, refractions of the artist as perceived by his subjects.