the longing to avoid form (2024)

Inspired by Bebe Miller and poet Denise Levertov, “the longing to avoid form” features poignant juxtapositions of qualities found in close relationships: intimacy and recklessness,  tenderness and intensity,  awkwardness and grace.  Through oblique reciprocations of regard and asymmetric mutuality in movement,  four dancers wander through a variety of physical states or, quoting Bebe Miller, “kinds of time,” and differing ways of attending to each other in partnering.  The questions of creative performance practice for the dancers are: how do we negotiate live presence within choreographic structures? How can we negotiate the freedom to shift focus while performing a dance?  What is the scope of our agency at any moment? How do we negotiate our interdependence and autonomy in presence with others?