Graduate student invites audience interaction in her 6-hour dance performance
Last week, Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance M.F.A. candidate Letty Bessart presented her thesis work, Some Ways to Continue? in the Kaufman Dance Theater. The six-hour dance theater presentation explored stamina and addressed experiences of carrying and carrying on.
"Letty Bassart will dance for six hours straight – no pauses, no intermission.The graduate student’s capstone performance 'Some Ways to Continue?' is a dance theater installation exploring the theme of persistence. The show, which took place Thursday and is taking place Friday, will consist of six-hour dance segments, but Bassart said viewers aren’t expected to stay for the show’s entirety. Rather, she said she wants her performance to challenge the traditional performance duration, as evening shows usually range from 15 minutes to two hours. Her show will also shift the audience-performer power dynamic, giving spectators the agency to freely choose when they want to enter and exit the theater.
'I have this whole routine prepared, but if (audience members) walk into the space, all bets are off,' she said. 'Suddenly, this rehearsed performance becomes less important. I’m going to acknowledge (the audience), and we’re going to have a sincere exchange.'"— Jordan Holman, Nov. 21, 2019
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Daily Bruin website.
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