catching up

in a work created and performed earlier this year, we launched an exploration into that nebulous realm between some most popular binaries.
specifically, our intentions were to blur the distinction between the public and the private. in doing this, we obviously had to ask, ‘what, exactly, are the ‘private’ elements of a public performance?’
the work was initiated through the fabrication of and commitment to costumes that took shape using black stretch mesh and foam wire-insulation tubing. we constructed individual bells/veils/tubes from the mesh, anchored to scuba-like head gear, and then suspended shin-level by a circle of the tubing. the finished shades were opaque enough to see through but distorted the expressions and movements of the bodies within.
with this barrier/lens in place, we initiated the performance with our voices; five bodies filled the space with low throaty rumblings and the observant giggling began upfront. both sounds strangely percussive lurched forth to mark the start of the spectacle. the sparse motions of walking and grumbling created an eeire disturbance of air and, matched with the strangely veiled appearance of five women, brought along a premonition of illustrated grief. sound carried through the veil despite the fabric’s seeming restrictive nature.
this smirk-worthy morose dynamic persisted until all bodies took flat to the floor and breathed a unanimous sigh. the releif continued into an atonal rise and fall of song, no melody or rhythm other than the breathing patterns specific to each body. having infused the territory with a sweet blanket of sad silliness, the dance progressed into a series of concealing and revealing, pushing and pulling, lifting and lowering sequences that were originally concieved with no relation to the final costume. the movements were designed as their own separate language of questions which gave light to another layer of possibilities as they paired up with the costumes.