Felicia Ballos and Flora Weigmann, Elizabeth Dee Gallery (New York City), August 14, 2007.
“The division between the two sections of Carte Blanche will be marked by an improvisational dance performance by Felicia Ballos and Flora Wiegman. Staged in the midst of demolishing the exhibition format of Part One and constructing the setting for Part Two, the performance takes inspiration from the actions performed by the gallery workers, with each dancer creating her movements in response. ” -from Carte Blanche show description, Elizabeth Dee Gallery website
Click to play
Nancy Garcia: When I walked in at 5:35pm, you were both doing repetitive movement, in sync, then slowly fell out of phase with each other. Was this a theme throughout the whole piece (which lasted from 12p-6p)?
Felicia Ballos: Flora [Weigmann] & I have worked together for many years. Even when the intention is not so crystallized to fall in and out of unison, that often seeps into what we make or end up doing. In the section you saw, that was definitely the idea, but at other times it can become an unintentional result in different manifestations. Texture as unison. Rhythm or spatial direction as unison. When you make duet work with the same person over a long period of time, you can end up morphing into and out of each other and we usually choose to use that.
NG: What were viewers’ reactions throughout the day, if any?
FB: Audience reactions were supportive and laid back in general. Except I feel like I made a guy I work with who’s never seen me dance uncomfortable. He seemed pretty awkward afterwards. Most of the people who dropped by have seen Flora and I dance together. It all felt very… natural. Like this is what we do together, we dance and they watch. This is how we hang out. A couple who has always supported us ran home to email their friends that they had 2 more hours to catch us. Some people just shot the shit with us & their good energy, some friends (each a dancer) took notes and shared with us after, most people commented on liking the work being done in the gallery at the same time. A few friends were on to and commented on the durational aspect being evident in our bodies and movement. They enjoyed seeing the exhaustion.
NG: How did you feel about the ebb and flow of viewers, in and out of the
gallery, throughout the day?
FB: Flora & I were both satisfied with the ebb and flow of the audience. There was always somebody there & often the combinations of people in this intimate and casual space were interesting. Lately I’ve enjoyed setting up a situation without a beginning/middle/end that spans over a length of time and is not in a traditional theater. It sets up a situation that doesn’t include obligation. If viewers want to stay and are able, they stay. If they want to go, its easy to leave. By removing the idea of it being inappropriate to leave, the audience is free to fulfill their own needs for their experience. Some people at our show stayed a couple of hours, others popped in and out. The ebb and flow was great.
NG: While I watched, I was thinking about possible tenets to abide by when watching this type of repetitive movement: a) One must make time to watch. b) One must have patience. c) One must be in it for the long haul. What are your thoughts about “ways of viewing,” in this context? What do you think about the “issue” of, what I’ll call, “audience impatience?” We’ve all been there, but it’s interesting having been on both sides (viewer and performer).
FB: This question is funny for us. We don’t think what we were doing requires the sort of patience you’re referring to. Jumping from one idea and movement to the next is what tries our patience. If our intention was to challenge the audience in that way, we would’ve taken it way way further. Both flora and I enjoy settling into work that takes it time to unfold. I appreciate going into the zone. I am often interested in an atmosphere that allows me to wander when I am an audience member. Werner Herzog’s “Heart of Glass” and “The Enigma of Kasper Hauser” are a couple of my favorite films and would make others go nuts. Those are the people who probably shouldn’t see our work.
NG: Is there room in the culture of NYC for dance to be a presence, not only in art galleries and theaters? I feel like there are many clubs for bands to play in (though many great live music venues have been shut down and bought out such as Tonic), but there aren’t clubs where dance is the main act. Will people ever go to clubs to watch dancers like they go watch bands? And I don’t mean strippers or burlesque, which do have a presence in clubs.
FB: That’s the big question, huh? I think this is possible in due time. Audiences seem shy to immediately embrace dance in a club or other settings that music is usually played in. Fortunately though, I’ve been in experiences, as another audience member and as a dancer, in which the crowd eventually came around. Recently, on tour with Jamm (aka. dancer/choreographer Jean Marie Leary), we fell into a wonderful group of people in Portland who invited us to perform at an after party. We had an amazing response and that led to us ‘headlining’ at another club in Olympia. New Yorkers seem slower to support these ways, but they are happening here and there and are well-received. It’s exciting. Dance in these types of venues is totally possible.
NG: Were you asked to perform during construction, between tear-down of Part 1 of the Summer show, or did you choose that slot?
FB: We chose to perform on the day of gallery construction. It was partly out of convenience of when Flora was able to come to town from L.A. and mostly because we were into the situation. To perform inside of a space that was being transformed by something other than us seemed interesting. It was great that there were two of us dancers and two people building out the space. The possibilities for chance, parallel experiences with the different types of work were intact from the start and did end up happening. By sharing the space, the contrasting physicalities and intentions in the gallery ended up providing certain contexts for each other to be seen. I wonder if you are asking because you’re afraid that we were relegated to the weird day because its dance we’re doing. Sorry for being presumptuous, but if that’s why you asked, I just wanted to dispel those thoughts. The gallery gave us many options when figuring out a date.
NG: Anything else you want to talk about goes HERE—————–
FB: What else do I have to say? Hmmm. I think I’ve said enough. Thanks again.
Felicia Ballos and Flora Weigmann will be premiering a new collaborative film and dance performance with filmmaker Amy Granat, at The Kitchen. Friday, Feb 22nd and Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 (8:00pm both nights).
Additional Info:
http://www.cinemazero.com/
http://www.thekitchen.org/
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