RED ROVER, RED ROVER

December 2015

Dance Alloy Studios, Pittsburgh, PA



Red Rover, Red Rover was presented as a part of Shana Simmons Dance's Fall 2015 project entitled Objective I.  It was inspired by Judith Mackrell's article, "Do choreographers need editors?" published in The Guardian (2014).  Objective I is the result of an experimental creative process where Shana Simmons and, fellow choreographer from The Moving Architects (NYC) Erin Carlisle Norton, created and edited their own work--and each other's. 

The critical stage of showing both original and edited versions of each choreographer's work was revealed to a live audience on November 21, 2015 at the Gibney Dance Center in New York City.  The audience was asked one simple open ended question: "Of the versions shown, which two should be presented in Pittsburgh?"  From there, a post show conversation was moderated by Boston based art maker and Dance Entrepreneur Think Tank Founder, Kathleen Nasti (www.katnasti.com).
What you see now is the final program as selected in NYC. The audience chose both edited works to be preferred over the artists' original versions. Red Rover, Red Rover was inspired by concepts of placement and displacement and has manifested in an exploration of personal and physical boundaries.
This project was made possible by the Heinz Small Arts Initiative and the Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre

Choreography: Shana Simmons, in collaboration with the dancers

Edited by: Erin Carlisle Norton

Music: Closure #2,  original composition PJ Roduta, John Lambert (Violin)

Dancers:  Jessica Marino, Brady Sanders, Shana Simmons

Costumes: Jamie Erin Murphy

Photos: Mark Simpson