{"id":23091,"date":"2024-10-31T12:53:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T17:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/?p=23091"},"modified":"2024-10-31T12:54:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T17:54:01","slug":"work-developed-by-slowdanger-during-artist-residency-to-be-showcased-in-story-ballet-at-rudder-auditorium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/31\/work-developed-by-slowdanger-during-artist-residency-to-be-showcased-in-story-ballet-at-rudder-auditorium\/","title":{"rendered":"Work Developed By slowdanger During Artist Residency To Be Showcased In ‘Story Ballet’ At Rudder Auditorium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The multidisciplinary performance duo slowdanger<\/a> \u00ad\u2014 which was selected for the inaugural New Work Development Artist Residency<\/a> in the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts<\/a> \u2014 will debut a dance performance titled \u201cStory Ballet\u201d on Friday at 7 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium. Admission is free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, artists developed their new work during their residency, which began Sept. 2 and closes on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Founded in 2013, slowdanger features performance artists taylor knight and anna thompson. The artists \u2014 who prefer the lowercase version of their names \u2014 describe \u201cStory Ballet\u201d as a contemporary recontextualization of \u201cSymphonie Fantastique,\u201d composed by Hector Berlioz in 1830.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The duo transposed the score to electronic instrumentation and will perform alongside three visiting artists: Theo Bliss of Pittsburgh, Christian Warner of New York City and Maree Remalia of Tulsa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEveryone has these different histories within their bodies, which is part of what we are trying to reference within the work,\u201d thompson said. \u201cAnd how those histories kind of haunt us as we continue to evolve as performance artists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The performance features a musical motif established by Berlioz called \u201cid\u00e9e fixe\u201d (\u201cfixed idea\u201d), a sequence of notes that rise and fall in different parts of the symphony, knight said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo Hector, the \u2018id\u00e9e fixe\u2019 represents the haunting presence of this obsession about this woman he falls in love with,\u201d knight said. \u201cBut we are reinterpreting that story and making the protagonist be comprised of all five of us. We each represent a different layer or different characteristic of that character, and it is more about our own sense of perception.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The symphony plays out like scenes in a movie, knight said, where the protagonist goes through a long journey of spiraling to delusion, eventually witnessing his death and funeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHector Berlioz has crafted this as a narrative where it feels like a film,\u201d knight said. \u201cHe uses different instruments to show a change to kind of build the different emotional context in each scene.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The symphony was symbolic of surrealism, depicting life in a dream-like setting, thompson said. The artists hope to use surrealism as a way to \u201cdestigmatize mental illness or negative psychological effects of trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The artists were among 160 applicants for the New Work Development Residency, selected by the college\u2019s Artists and Scholars in Residence Committee<\/a>, according to Dr. James R. Ball III<\/a>, associate dean for industry and community engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the residency, slowdanger collaborated with students and faculty across the college and gave interdisciplinary presentations. The duo performed at the Brazos Contemporary Dance Festival<\/a> in September, and will perform on the closing day of Lorefest<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\nResidency Reflections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n