Pentacle


R E P E R T O R Y

		Voyeur Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer’s latest work, Voyeur, pushes their exploration of the live and virtual into new territory choreographically, thematically, and technologically. With the iconic paintings of Edward Hopper as a point of departure, the work looks at the role of the audience and performer as voyeur. Bearing witness to fragmented moments of private lives is at the heart of the work. In a departure from their repertory to date, Voyeur is designed for performance with an installation component in museums, galleries and alternative spaces, as well as for proscenium and black box theaters. It incorporates a multi-surfaced set structure made of a series of hinged panels at various angles with windows and doorways. Through the use of video projections, the surfaces continually transform, evoking imagery of both spatial and psychological enclosures. A sense of depth is created with additional scenes projected on the wall behind the set. The audience views the live performers and the back scenes through the windows and doorways of the set. The use of live cameras in performance functions as a contemporary version of voyeurism, creating multiple perspectives as the performers merge and collide with the video imagery. Stream-of-consciousness sequences transform at key moments into the stillness, light, and specificity of time and place found in Edward Hopper’s work. Hopper’s actual imagery is not used. References to his work are made through video imagery shot on location in places where Hopper painted (Nyack, NY; New York City; Portland, ME and vicinity). The creative team includes Bridgman and Packer’s longtime collaborators, filmmaker Peter Bobrow and lighting designer Frank DenDanto III, and will feature Bridgman\|Packer’s first collaboration with Grammy, Tony, and Drama Desk Award winning sound designer Scott Lehrer. Additional sound design is by Leon Rothenberg and music by Robert Een. The work takes place in a performing area of approximately 20 wide by 30 ft deep. The company provides all video equipment including projectors, video cameras, and cables. Voyeur is co-commissioned by Portland Ovations (Portland Maine) and The Edward Hopper House Art Center (Nyack, NY). The work was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. An extensive tour of New England in 2012-‘13 is supported by an Expeditions Grant from New England Foundation for the Arts.

		Trilogy Trilogy – (Seductive Reasoning, Memory Bank, Under The Skin) explores the intricacies of identity, gender, perception, and intimacy through Bridgman/Packer’s choreographic concept of “video partnering”–the highly visceral and visually arresting integration of live performance and video technology. Through interaction with their life-size video images and the use of bodies and costumes as projection screens, Bridgman and Packer blur the lines between image and reality, distort identity, and reveal hidden multiple layers of consciousness. Composers Robert Een, Ken Field, and Glen Velez have created original musical scores, and shows can include their live performances. “The most thrilling dance work this reviewer has seen in recent memory…flat-out exhilarating.” -The Boston Globe

		Double Expose Double Expose is a fantastical, raucous, sensual exploration of the psyche, identity, and relationship. With a nod to classical American cinema, choreographer/performers Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer, along with a multitude of their video counterparts, embody a range of archetypal personae. Blending live camera, animation, and prerecorded urban settings, Bridgman and Packer create multi-layered perspectives and surreal mindscapes amid a highly sensual alchemy of the live and the virtual. Original live music score is by composer Ken Field, video by Peter Bobrow and animation by Karen Aqua. “Witty, sexy, and surreal…” -The New Yorker “You may marvel at the effects achieved through technological wizardry, but you’re also amused, charmed, or disturbed by the ways in which two people’s images and dreams and memories of each other fly around like shadows in the wind.” -The Village Voice

I N D E V E L O P M E N T

		In the spring of 2012, Bridgman and Packer created a new short piece, Solo, designed for the unusual dimensions of the stage at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, where it was premiered June, 2012. The work incorporates a live video feed with time-delay computer processing, which allows the performers to dance with multiple versions of themselves and create on the spot canons with movement recorded moments ago. As an outgrowth of this work, Bridgman and Packer are continuing to develop the concept and the technology of computer processed time delay with live video camera.

W O R K S H O P S

		Dance Partnering Workshop This popular partnering workshop introduces Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer’s unique approach to partnering for beginning through advanced performers. The class is non-gender specific, emphasizes the release and ease as well as the strength of partnering, and builds to develop exhilarating and risk-taking partnering in duet, trio and group forms. This can be taught as a one-time workshop or as a series of classes.

		Dance Technique Class A class that emphasizes breath, weight, dynamic physicality and exhilarating movement. The work uncovers and strengthens the connections in the body, harnessing the body’s power and momentum. Focus is on the connection to the floor, clarity of intent, and the building of performance skills.

		Lecture Demonstration Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer explain their choreographic process and its integration with video technology. Included can be performance of excerpts of their work and/or a Power Point presentation demonstrating their use of green screen technology, Final Cut Pro, live camera stage set-up and computer processed time-delay.

		LIVE PERFORMANCE AND VIDEO TECHNOLOGY: Laboratory Workshop This workshop examines the relationship of video and live performance from a choreographic point of view. The class explores how video technology can become an integral part of the performance and the creative process. Participants work on short choreographic projects. While a 5-7 day residency is recommended, this content can also be offered as a 1 1/2 hour lecture-demonstration.

		SCHOOL ASSEMBLY PROGRAM: Making Dances, Making Video Bridgman/Packer offers an accessible and exciting school assembly program which gives students first-hand experience of dance, video & performance and a window into the creative process. Bridgman/Packer perform excerpts from their works which highlight their movement, humor, and expressiveness through an integration of live performance and video. They conclude with “Make a Dance,” where the audience helps the artists choreograph a dance on the spot and student volunteers join the dancers on stage.

		Choreographic Residency The company creates an original work on professional or student companies that incorporates Bridgman/Packer’s catapulting partnering, theatrical contexts, and innovative use of video technology.

		Additional Workshops Additional workshops are available and can include Master Classes with award-winning musician collaborators (Ken Field, Glen Velez and Robert Een). The Company also does Choreographic Commissions and Repertory Workshops with dance companies and university dance departments.

Photos by: Paul B. Goode (background), Insets from top left: Eduardo Patino, Vertical top to bottom: Kelly Gotlesman, Paul B. Goode, Eduardo Patino