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Take a Leaf and Plant It!
a community project to rebuild our local understory Sowing Instructions: ~ sow in all local soil and sun exposure types ~ sow in fall to allow seeds to winter over naturally ~ best if partially buried in dirt ~ break leaves apart and spread out to allow more plants to seed Included Native Plants: ~ monarda didyma mix (bee balm) ~ siberian wallflower ~ annual candytuft ~ rocket larkspur ~ purple coneflower ~ indian blanket ~ zinnia 'dahlia flowered mix' ~ gayfeather ~ cosmos 'sensation mix' ~ sulphur cosmos 'bright lights' ~ mexican sunflower ~ hoary vervain ~ smooth aster ~ butterfly milkweed ~ sweet black eyed susan ~ stout blue eyed grass ~ wild geranium ~ blue wild indigo |
Six and Four Articulations Collaborative Tour
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We are six emerging artists who have joined forces as a performing arts collective dubbed 6 and 4 Articulations. We have shared, spread and developed our work in a seven week tour through the United States. We are all Alfred University Art and Design graduates; accordingly we share a background in the visual arts, whether it be print, painting, video art or sculpture.
Our pieces address topics of gender, conversation, relationship, aesthetic and shape. Our movement (derived from modern gymnastics, ballet, contact improvisation, and break dancing) can be classified as alternative and rides the line between performance art and contemporary and postmodern dancing. Our performances employ the devices of costumes, props, and theater to create engaging works that sculpturally carves out the performance space in a series of solos, duets and troupe performances.
We intend to present one work as an open-ended continuous piece that derives it’s inspiration from the tour itself and each area we visit. In this way we can interact with, glean information from and generate work related to the varied communities we encounter along the way.
Afterward:
The tour was a success with 15 great shows throughout the U.S. We are currently overwhelmed with editing our video footage of performances and site specific work. Please check back soon as we will be uploading these videos as they are edited.
Our pieces address topics of gender, conversation, relationship, aesthetic and shape. Our movement (derived from modern gymnastics, ballet, contact improvisation, and break dancing) can be classified as alternative and rides the line between performance art and contemporary and postmodern dancing. Our performances employ the devices of costumes, props, and theater to create engaging works that sculpturally carves out the performance space in a series of solos, duets and troupe performances.
We intend to present one work as an open-ended continuous piece that derives it’s inspiration from the tour itself and each area we visit. In this way we can interact with, glean information from and generate work related to the varied communities we encounter along the way.
Afterward:
The tour was a success with 15 great shows throughout the U.S. We are currently overwhelmed with editing our video footage of performances and site specific work. Please check back soon as we will be uploading these videos as they are edited.
DOCUMENTATION and SITE SPECIFIC PIECES
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Evolve the Present System
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Choreographed by B. Avery Syrig
Performed by William Head, Emily Smith, Laura Smith, and Jenny Hillenbrand
Evolve the Present System involves four performers dressed in brown, nude, and tan colored basic shorts, tights, and shirts. The piece involves sections of choreographed movement and improvisation based on contact improvisation technique. In the beginning the main dancer struggles against the movements of the three other performers. The main dancer eventually escapes and learns how to morph the other dancers to create a new system that the main dancer can function within. This piece examines human social structures; how we rely on them and how they can hold us back. It envisions a way that we can use the systems to have productive and meaningful lives.
Evolve the Present System was performed on the Six and Four Articulations 2012 Performance Tour which included performances at Miller Performing Arts Center (Alfred, NY); Ithaca Community Commons Stage (Ithaca, NY); National Museum of Dance (Saratoga Springs, NY); HAC Box Theatre (Baltimore, MD); Studio 34 (Philadelphia, PA); Ballet Academie (Lafayette, LA); Freneticore Theatre (Houston, TX); Work/Space Denver (Denver, CO); Art EFFECT Gallery (Detroit, MI); The Division Avenue Arts Collective (Grand Rapids, MI); as well as three artist residencies at Salem Art Works (Salem, NY); High Concept Laboratories (Chicago, IL); Defibrillator (Chicago, IL). The Six and Four Articulation collaboration company is defined by the creation of an open environment—almost equal parts performer, choreographer and visual artist—where each person in the group cycles through these specific roles: the performer of one work will be the choreographer or set designer of another, creating a series of works connected conceptually rather than stylistically or in terms of design. Unlike the Cunningham/Cage/Rosenberg trio we are less highly marginalized into our distinctive disciplines. Each individual in him- or herself is eclectic in their experience of the visual, spatial, and performance world. We share core interests; however our approach to, and experience behind, each of these interests is distinct to the individual in terms of choreography and performance. Each choreographer’s way of pursuing a codified movement vocabulary (or even neglecting that pursuit all together) can also be considered collaboration within the group on a broad and subtle scale. Our movement, derived from modern dance, gymnastics, ballet, and break dancing, can be classified as alternative and rides the line between performance art and contemporary postmodern dance. |
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Created May 2010, Fitting is a choreographed dance in and around a pink square projected from the ceiling. Fitting is a physical exploration into social and mental boundaries characterized by the pink square. Boundaries may be realized but not seen as definitively negative or hurtful. Only until they are felt and depicted through our intentions and actions do we realize their true impact.
This piece was intentionally left with space for improvisation from the dancer. The dancer was given a framework and asked to experience and create their own movement. Because of this, Fitting can be seen as a real life depiction of the dancer’s experience with boundaries felt in their own life, making the piece more powerful in its form. The dancer was given sections where their dance should depict a certain feeling: the first - safety, happiness, and a false self; the second being frustrated, trapped, and afraid; and the third being one of awareness, daring, truth, and a appreciation for what is there. The dancer was asked to live with these boundaries while also becoming fearless about crossing them. With this finale the dancers are able to carry on in their own dance of life. |
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