Decisions, panic and lots and lots of tulle….

This evening grew directly out of a collaboration with composer Doug Silver. His haunting melody for the poem “The Dream” by Edna St Vincent Millay was a springboard for two and half years of exploration of love and emptiness for me.

The steps to create this work were as follows: Doug’s melody, a wedding present that never was, a duet for a beautiful stage couple, a poem by a good friend who lost her father, the thought of a bride alone for an unfathomable amount of time, a residency at Dance Omi, a duet for two hats, multiple deaths, and re-approaching empty from a place of love.

This work is dedicated to friends and family that have been left behind by someone they held dear. Our families are the inheritors of the empty spaces left behind when we leave.

Venues Performed

Judson Memorial Church (2010)
Ft. Tryon Park (2011)
Kaatsbaan International Dance Center (2011)
Danspace Project/St. Mark’s Church (2012)
2011 Fall Tour to Barre, VT, Brattleboro, VT, Saratoga Springs NY

Credits

Choreography Melissa Riker, in constant collaboration with the dancers

Dancers Zoe Bowick
Hilary Brown
Andrew Broaddus
Madeline Hoak
Benjamin Oyzon

Music Katie Down (source list available) Songs by Ingrid Michaelson and Greg
Costume Design Amy Pedgio Otto, Cara Harmon and Tracy Klein
Lighting Design Kia Rogers
Environment Invention Ien DeNio
Stage Manager Laura Schlachtmeyer
Danspace TD Leo Janks

Kinesis Project's process is intensely collaborative. Pressing Empty was created with the performers above and: Callie Ritter, James Edward Becton III, Neva Cockrell and Nik Priest.