Introducing the First Performance: Part 1

Bodies of Text kicks off in conjunction with the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. On April 16, 2011, at 8pm at the Community Education Center at 3500 Lancaster Avenue, three choreographers and three artist books come together in an interdisciplinary performance event.

In this blog post, we preview Blast Vs Blaze, featuring choreography by idiosynCrazy productions’ Shannon Murphy and the artist book Strike by Monica Kane, with movement input by Jumatatu Poe, sound and video work by Steve Surgalski.

Blast Vs Blaze is an investigation of an argument that can never be won or lost.
Shannon Murphy and Jumatatu Poe combat in unlikely ways; their movement, often explosive and aggressive, forever flues their battle without ever coming to resolution. This dance theater duet explores the definitions that keep us separated, keep us fighting, and that keep us from communication.

Shannon Murphy has been researching her families’ history during the Vietnam War and how its lasting effects can be discovered in her own body. She is currently working on a documentary about a group of Vietnam Veterans that reunited after 30 years, and is working with a group of female Veterans of her own generation. Both of these projects have shaken her own understanding of war then and now. She finds herself re-examining the assumptions that had kept her from listening and empathizing with other humans simply because of liberal /conservative titles. This exploration led her to choosing her Philadelphia Center for the Book Collaborator Monica Kane.

Blast Vs Blaze is not a comment on who is right or wrong or good or bad. It is more a question of how we fight for ourselves and who we fight against.

Stay tuned for updates on other pieces in the performance, and more information about the artist books....