Visiting Artist | March 27 - April 10, 2016
Remains
Choreographer John Jasperse returned for his second MANCC residency to develop Remains an evening-length work looking at alternative ways of considering legacy and what artists wish to leave behind through their work. Developed in collaboration with performers Maggie Cloud, Marc Crousillat, Burr Johnson, Heather Lang, Stuart Singer, and Claire Westby, and composer John King, Video Designer Jeff Larson, and Lighting Designer Lenore Doxsee, the project marks the first collaboration between Jasperse, King, and Larson.
Speaking of the work’s underlying impulses, Jasperse says: “We often act as if our self is isolated, beginning and ending in space with our skin, and in time with our birth and death. We make our mark whether our names are written in some subjective history book or not.” Remains explores a notion of legacy as waves that ripple outwards from one's actions, where the boundaries of self are fluid and permeate one’s surroundings. In this view, we are all an integral part of what results from our actions.
Taking inspiration for process and structure from T.S. Elliot’s "Four Quartets," Remains attempts to “fold time back upon itself” through cross medium interchange. The organization of time passes between movement, musical sound and projected image, cycling between the three media. The work examines connections and oppositions to early modernist pioneers and how the radicalism of that seminal work might be adapted in order to respond to our own early 21st century context.
While at MANCC, Jasperse hosted a panel discussion with FSU professors Jawole Zollar (Dance), Julietta Cheung (Art), and Dr. Denise Von Glahn (Historical Musicology) on the efficacy of art in the ethical and political domains. Additionally, a draft of the work was shared with students and general public during a School of Dance Open Forum. Remains, premiered July 5-7, 2016 at the American Dance Festival.
Collaborators in Residence: Maggie Cloud, Marc Crousillat, Burr Johnson, Heather Lang, Stuart Singer, and Claire Westby [Dancers], Jeff Larson [Video Designer]
Maggie Allesee
