Bedroom w TV and Woman Lays w Aide

Bedroom w TV and Woman Lays w Aide examines portraits of several characters within an abstract domestic interior based on a bedroom within the Laguardia Houses, a public housing project in New York City. In it two women dance in the semi-enclosed bedroom accompanied by three backup dancers: one human, one sculpture, and one combination of the two. The movement is set to live instrumentation including vocals, piano, and drums. The piece was originally performed for Performa 09 at 179 Canal 2nd Floor Gallery. The set was comprised of a full domestic interior, walls, and a multitude of assorted lamps, in addition to the unusual details of that particular gallery space (it was at one time a jewelry store on the historic Canal Street, and many of the original fixtures and interior architectural details remained en tact). The Performa work included a live improvisational drum session by Tim Dewit, as well as an improvisational dance movement by Busy Gangnes, which were not included in the later versions. The piece was also performed at MOMA PS1, and was set in an expansive gallery space, which provided a void-like atmosphere. The piece was performed for a third and final time at MOMA PS1, in this instance in an intimate painting gallery, which spotlighted the plastic objects included in the set. This performance was a segment of the larger piece, and included a new song, and live performance by Tim Dewit, in the stead of live vocals by Shannon Funchess. This performance featured the movement of Jonathan Turner who captured video footage from all sides of the stage, in full costume. The video is a composite of all three live performances, which weave fluidly from one to the next.

Credits:

Video – Jonathan Turner
Writing (performance) – Gloria Maximo
Choreography – Megha Barnabas
Additional Choreography – Busy Gangnes
Performance – Megha Barnabas, Melissa Ip, Gloria Maximo, Busy Gangnes, Gerlan Marcel, David Toro, Solomon Chase, Telfar Clemens, Fatima Al Qadiri, Tim Dewit, Jonathan Turner
Set Design – Shawn Maximo
Sculpture – Shawn Maximo
Sculpture – Paul Kopkau
Costumes – David Toro, Solomon Chase
Stage Make-up – Melissa Ip
Vocals – Shannon Funchess
Keyboards and Music – Fatima Al Qadiri
Drums and Music – Tim Dewit
Additional Cinematography – Robin Greenwood

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