Join us on Saturday May 2nd for a combined live online performance, virtual viewing party and intimate talkback with Melissa Riker, Choreographer and Artistic Director of Kinesis Project dance theatre, a large-scale, outdoor, public space dance company.
Since 2001, Kinesis has been at the forefront of the international discussion of placemaking, art engagement and the cultural imperative of art in public space. Inspired by Riker’s questions about the world around us, her dances are created through a generative, collaborative process with both dancers and designers. They are further evolved based on the site in which they are performed, resulting in unique and custom performances in each space the company enters.
We will have the chance to learn more about how Riker invents the large scale, space-changing, breath-taking dances she is known for, as well as how she has embraced the current quarantine to create dances which are performed within the confines of a zoom call.
Together, we will view recordings of some of the Kinesis Project works in their out-door, natural spaces, and then experience a short, live online performance of Kinesis Project dancers in new, site specific, Quarantine choreography. Melissa will walk us through her inspirations and process, taking us on an inspiring deep-dive into how the choreographic eye and creativity can translate in our current, virtual world.
This is a great session for anyone who is interested in:
• contemporary dance, as well as the choreographic or artistic process
• how collaborations & partnerships can expand and enhance artistic practices
• how artists and dancers are adapting to the current challenges of our virtual world and using these challenges as inspiration
• taking a break from Netflix binges to add some art & community to their weekend
No dance ability or background necessary :) Register here in order to receive the zoom link: bit.ly/woc-kinesis
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Further Details:
2pm ET (11am PT) | Welcome & community connecting
2:20-3:30pm (11:20am PT) | Virtual viewing, talkback and discussion
As with all of our virtual connection sessions, there will be time to connect with the community and get to know the fellow attendees at the start of the call, before diving in to the viewing party, talkback and discussion.
Advance registration here is required. We are asking for a minimum $5 donation, with 5 comp tickets available (first come, first served). All registrants will receive a zoom link a day before the session, as well as a recording after the session ends.
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Melissa Riker is the Artistic Director and Choreographer of Kinesis Project dance theatre. She is a New York City dancer and choreographer who emerged as a strong performance and creative voice as the NYC dance and circus worlds combined during the 90s. Riker’s dances and aesthetic layer her training as a classical dancer, martial artist, theatre choreographer and aerial performer. She creates dances on site - and in context. Riker invents large-scale outdoor performances and spontaneous moments of dance for individuals and corporate clients. Audiences and critics have called Riker’s work “a Marx Brothers’ routine with soul,” “A movable feast.” And from The New York Times, her choreography is: "comically acrobatic, gracefully classical, visually arresting."
Kinesis Project is a dance organization that produces dance concerts, facilitates educational programs and creates site-specific performances with diverse communities. A company at the forefront of the international discussion of placemaking, art engagement and the cultural imperative of art in public space, Kinesis Project dance theatre invents large scale, space-changing, breath-taking experiences.