Dominica Greene and Courtney Mazeika, who last year presented A Shedding, an evening geared at giving queer and BIPOC artists a platform in Salt Lake City, are at it again. Since last summer, A Shedding has become more than a single evening of dance. Under the banner of A Shedding, Mazeika and Greene have just released a new wave of creative material – A Podcast and A Duration.
A Podcast is a two part conversation between two Black women: Alexandra Barbier (a dancer and choreographer) and Gabby Huggins (also trained in dance, now a filmmaker, teacher and “art fixture”). In their wide ranging discussion, they light on police murder and how the spectacle of death and racism is digested by the media. They discuss the prevalence of “trauma porn” around Black suffering and interrogate the political dimensions of art making. Both of these brilliant women are worth listening to on their own, and even more so in dialogue with each other.
A Duration was an ambitious four-hour installation featuring Barbier, Greene and two other dancers: Mar Undag and Masio Sangster – all of whom performed last year in A Shedding. I watched about an hour of it and found it captivating – at turns melancholy and meditative. Since it was a durational performance, I thought it would be fun to crowdsource a review. Instead of asking one writer to cover all four hours, I thought I’d try asking the community for impressions, even if, like me, they only watched a fraction.
So far, I’ve only received one “mini-review” impression, from Aileen Norris. I hope to receive more, from anyone who attended. Remember, loveDANCEmore exists to support you and your dance community. We want to share your thoughts, frustrations, elation, panic and everything in between. We’re very lucky (in my humble but correct opinion) to have artists like those involved in A Shedding in our community, artists willing to take big risks with serious content. We’re also lucky to have a venue to express our feelings about what we see. Please, send me your thoughts on A Duration. Let’s start a conversation. Until then here’s one thoughtful impression from Aileen Norris…
–SBH, editor
promotional material for A Duration by Marissa Mooney
I find myself returning to this idea of layers: Alexandra Barbier experimenting with new outfits, Dominica Greene covering a tarp in dirt and eventually tulips, Masio Sangster piece by piece removing garments, and Mar Undag refracted partially through clever mirror angles. People and things, revealed and obscured, move across my screen. This layering is enhanced by the fact that I cannot watch all four hours and must peel myself away from witnessing. By the last ten minutes, I feel as if I have seen another side to each performer; I am in awe of the vulnerability graciously shared. The perspective of a camera rather than the naked eye lends an extra curiosity. I can’t just crane my neck to peek behind Alexandra’s chair or walk to a different part of the room to watch Mar from a new perspective.
What do we get to see? What do we miss? I ask myself these questions not only of the physical realities of time and space—what happened when I had to return to work?—but also of these individuals. And it is true; we can never see one person completely, infinitely, try as we might. A Duration allowed me to settle in, though, and appreciate the aspects of someone we are permitted to witness. It is a deeply beautiful, deeply moving thing to see: someone sharing a part of themselves. It is a testament to the important work that A Shedding is doing that A Duration celebrated that, and a herald of the vital work I anticipate A Shedding will continue to do.
– Aileen Norris, May 3
Clockwise from top left: Alexandra Barbier, Masio Sangster, Mar Undag and Dominica Greene