Works & Process Artists Virtual Commissions Presents Sara Mearns and More

This weekend, Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presented the premieres of Storm and QUAND LE DANSEUR DANSE...

Storm

Performed by Sara Mearns, Choreographed by Joshua Bergasse, The Storm Will Pass Soon Now - Music and Lyrics by Zoe Sarnak, Vocals by Margo Seibert, Piano by Zoe Sarnak, Filmed by Joshua Bergasse, Edited by Lee Cherry, Co-presented by Barrington Stage Company, Broadway Dance Center, Kaatsbaan Kaatsbaan | cultural park for dance, The Joyce Theater, New York City Center, Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and Spoleto Festival USA

"We created this piece in April at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, as we tried to make sense of what our communities were going through. We created this piece to inspire hope. So much has happened since then. We stand in solidarity with the protests against racial injustice in our country. They inspire profound hope and we hope, change."

- Joshua Bergasse, Sara Mearns, Zoe Sarnak, and Margo Seibert

Artist Statement: Joshua Bergasse

For me this was all about dichotomy; I was feeling so many opposing emotions. Sometimes debilitatingly negative, and then extraordinarily positive and powerful. That's where the movement came from. And I wanted to capture Sara's state of being against Zoes song of hope.

Artist Statement: Sara Mearns

We filmed this at the height of the pandemic in New York City, every morning we would wake up to the numbers rising. At that point, I felt lost & questioning what my role or contribution was to society, I felt helpless. I felt my being was crying out, this song and the choreography allowed me to express the pain I was in.

Artist Statement: Zoe Sarnak

Writing music is a way for me to take an ache that I feel and turn it into some piece of hope. Like so many artists, I find myself trying to make meaning of this moment of confusion, pain, and loss. I hope that this song can provide the kind of strength and solace to viewers that working with Margo, Josh, and Sara has provided to me.

QUAND LE DANSEUR DANSE...

CHOREOGRAPHY, CONCEPT, AND PERFORMANCE Dylan Crossman

SOUNDSCORE "découragé" by CASH

OUTSIDE EYE Hubert Lafore

CAMERA OPERATORS Ann Tuomey, César

EDITING Dylan Crossman

SPECIAL THANKS Ann Tuomey, César, Robin Crossman, Justin Streichman, Pam Tanowitz, Alla Kovgan, Flemming Fynsk, Sumi Clements, Jason Collins

"This commission came at the onset of the 'shelter in place' phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York City; a time where the world felt suspended and we were left contemplating our past while wondering about our future. Access to any public building was off-limits and I would have to work on my own, within my own neighborhood. I refused to be confined to my home. The expansiveness of the outdoors felt like a necessary call to creative, innovative and new ways around the challenges facing us and the mildly glamorous urban landscapes, a reflection on the reality of our- now empty- streets; a reminder that our carefully designed and controlled environment was now useless to us. Dancing outside felt crucial, referencing both what had been and what might again be our reality. It also revealed a connection to the natural elements and to the rest of the world, even if unseen, opposing the notion of forced isolation," said Dylan Crossman.

Artist Statement: Dylan Crossman

I make dances because I seek to further the conversation between virtuosity and humanity, as they co-exist in the choreographic frame.

Works & Process Artists (WPA) Virtual Commissions Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ08rQmWB63RFC3avQF-nDsneUXLrUd4X

To post a comment, you must register and login.