New York Live Arts Presents Molissa Fenley and Company, 10/2

New York Live Arts will present, as part of the Replay Series, works by Molissa Fenley spanning more than thirty years of her choreographic experiments in two varied programs October 2 - 5 at 7:30pm, with a lecture demonstration October 5 at 3:00pm. As Claudia La Rocco of The New York Times stated, "Ms. Fenley...delights in the juxtaposition of stillness and speed...It is a ruthless geometry [she] is after...Yet what possibilities bloom in that hushed, concentrated space. The imagination rushes in." Fenley will present the world premiere of Found Object, the reconstructed solos The Floor Dances and Witches' Float, and the quartet Energizer, bridging her choreographic past with the present.

Fenley's newest work, Found Object, is a continuation of the creative format used for Cross Bridge (2012). Described by Brian Siebert of The New York Times as "deliberate and secure yet also swooshingly sensuous," Cross Bridge was guided partly by a choreographic journal Fenley found in her archives at Mills College dating from 2000, containing 33 movement phrases that were recorded but never created into a dance. Employing a similar method of instruction-following as resource material, Fenley asked playwright John Guare, poet Joy Harjo and writer Rudy Wurlitzer to provide written directions from which Fenley interpreted and created the choreography for this new work. A quintet featuring dancers Christiana Axelsen, Rebecca Chaleff, Fenley, Peiling Kao and actor RoseMary Quinn, Found Object features original music composed and performed by Erin Gee, lighting by David Moodey and props by sculptor Jene Highstein (1942 - 2013). Originally made for Fenley's 2010 work The Prop Dances: Pieces of Land, Highstein's hand props are included here as an homage to his artistry.

Two solos, The Floor Dances (1989), commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation, and Witches' Float (1993), commissioned by the Krannert Art Center, will be reconstructed by Fenley and performed by Fenley and former Merce Cunningham dancer Holley Farmer, respectively. As Deborah Jowitt described in a 2012 article for Arts Journal, Fenley is known for "the elegantly arduous, repetitively patterned solos she created for herself from 1988 to 1997," and the performances at Live Arts will be an exclusive opportunity to view these celebrated, rarely seen solos. The Floor Dances, featuring sculpture by Richard Long and music by Henryk Gorecki, was choreographed in memory of the wildlife devastation following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in March 1989, and is performed within a circular space created by 45 granite stones.Witches' Float, a shamanic, transformational work, includes sculptures by Kiki Smith and music by Alvin Lucier.

Also part of the Replay Series will be the reconstruction of Energizer, one of Fenley's earliest works. Described in a 1980 article by Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times as "the dance of the future...that blasts [the] audience into a new, and brave, world of dance," Energizer is a quartet featuring original music by Mark Freedman. Originally commissioned by Dance Theater Workshop in 1980, Energizer will be seen in its entirety for the first time since 1982, and will be performed by Axelsen, Chaleff, Fenley, Kao and Cassandra Neville.

Performances will take place in New York Live Arts' Theater. Come Early Conversations and Stay Late Discussions will also be featured with two shows. Tickets are $30 and $20. Tickets may be purchased online at tickets.newyorklivearts.org, by phone at 212-924-0077 and in person at the box office. Box Office hours are Monday to Friday from 1 to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 8pm.

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