communion
by Janessa Clark
communion is an experimental videoart response to the isolation and uncertainty we are all facing as artists and humans in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Because dancers can no longer breathe together, touch, or share the experience of movement within the physical studio, communion invites pairs of dancers, separated by physical distance and the pandemic, into a digital space to commune together.
Each unique duet is created from videos by two different dancers who are separated by distance. Artist Janessa Clark combines these videos to create a duet which is set to music donated by a composer who is also working remotely. The project will continue to develop over the coming months, even as the Covid-19 lockdowns subside, and will include more dancers and composers from around the world.
Concept, curation, and editing by Janessa Clark
Performed by:
Gerald Casel
Janessa Clark
Ori Flomin
Helena Franzen
Peiling Kao
Leslie Kraus
Benoît Lachambre
Gesine Moog
Yutaka Nakata
Ogbitse Omagbemi
Laura Peterson
Dan Safer
Composers:
Fatrin Krajka
Anne Müller
David Shane Smith
Caroline Shaw
Sxip Shirey
All music used with permissions. All rights reserved.
Trailer:
To the Hands, Mvt. VI: I Will Hold You
Composition and lyrics by Caroline Shaw
Sung by The Crossing with the International Contemporary Ensemble from their recording Seven Responses.
Recording provided courtesy of Innova Recordings.
Donald Nally, Conductor
Janessa Clark is a choreographer, filmmaker, and installation artist based in Brooklyn, HY. Her practice combines dance, movement, video, and language to create socially-engaged art. She holds an MA in Performance Practices and Research from London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a BFA in Choreography from Arizona State University. Janessa has collaborated with acclaimed artists such as Tino Sehgal, Gina Gibney/Gibney Dance, Laura Peterson Choreography, and Noemie Lafrance Sens|Production among others. Recent highlights include a 2019 CEC ArtsLink Back Apartment Fellowship in St. Petersburg, Russia, a 2018 EtM Artist Residency at Jamaica Center for Arts, and a 2018 Residency at THE CHURCH Artist Residency in Mt. Vision, NY. Currently she is the Croft Residency's 'Crojik’s Largesse' recipient.
headshot by Maria Baranova
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