sightlines

Choreographed by Wendell Gray II
Performed by Bria Bacon, Dominica Greene, Rachel Gill 

Music/Sound: Fognap by Will Guthrie, Hey Ladies by Destiny’s Child, Kim & Cookie (Interlude) by Outkast, The Organ That Made You Bleed by Clarice Jensen, Stage manager cues for “HAIRSPRAY” by San Diego Repertory Theater, Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Patti LaBelle, Swahilliland by Ahmad Jamal, Times When I Know You’ll Be Sad by Biosphere, Cherish by Yves Tumor, Part Of Your World by The Little Mermaid, If It’s Magic by Stevie Wonder, Call On Me by Danny Bell, Love Ballad by L.T.D.

Text: Airport scene from “Mulholland Drive” by David Lynch

Special Thanks: Thank you to the Black Diaspora Space Grant, KinoSaito Arts Center, and Amanda+James for supporting this work from its initial inception to this moment. A special shout out to Amanda Hameline and Hollis Bartlet for inviting the work into this festival.

Thank you to my mother for her being my first theater teacher and also showing me the mechanics of making a show.

Thank you to my best friend Jordan Lloyd for your consistent and thoughtful support throughout this process.

Thank you to Joanna Kotze, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Wendell Gray Sr, Jerome Kendrick, Meghann Trago, Marielis Garcia, Janessa Clark, J. Bouey, Kailey McCrudden, and Maria Bauman for your generous donations towards this work. 

Thank you to this stellar cast of performers. Some of my favorite dancers I’ve come to witness.  

Bria Bacon (she/her) is a 20-something, queer, performing artist. Although she is predominantly trained in movement art (dance), she holds passions and gifts in writing, sound-making, and theater. Bacon is currently occupying Munsee-Lenape lands in Brooklyn, as well as growing relationships abroad. She has worked with Sally Silvers Dance, Donna Uchizono Company, Kyle Marshall Choreography, Stephen Petronio Company, as well as Beth Gill and Rachel Comey in NYFW. Her current collaborations include Company Christoph Winkler, Stacy Spence, Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group, and TRPNYC/Johnnie Cruise Mercer. Bacon is originally from Munsee-Lenape lands in central New Jersey, and graduated with a BFA in Dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts/Rutgers University.

Dominica Greene (she.her) is a Black woman who cherishes and channels her Caribbean heritage and Queerness into an art-based existence. A conceptual movement artist, she values dance as one of the purest forms of expression, utilizing it as an energetic entity capable of affecting real and palpable change. Have you laughed today? 
dominicagreene.com / @draminica 

Rachel Gill is a dancer and amateur filmmaker from Muncie, Indiana. Based in New York City, she has performed at venues including The Shed, Judson Church, BAM Fisher, and Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, and has worked with Maya Lee-Parritz, Amanda Krische, POGO, and I-Ling Liu, to name a few. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from SUNY Purchase and completed an exchange program at Amsterdam School of the Arts. Rachel spends much of her free time at the movies and trying to make her friends laugh. She is excited to dance for Wendell Gray II once again, the last time having been when they were both college students!

Created + Performed by Jessie Young

Dramaturgy + Direction by Stephanie Acosta

Sound Collage by Stephanie Acosta

le sigh is performed as the first iteration of a research based solo. 

Created + Performed by Nattie Trogdon + Hollis Bartlett

Sound design by Glenn Potter-Takata

This work has been supported in part by Marble House Project, a not-for-profit organization.

Nattie Trogdon + Hollis Bartlett are partners in both life and their creative endeavors. Based in Lenapehoking (currently known as Brooklyn, NY), they construct dance works, films and research based practices aimed to disrupt assumptions of performance and personhood. Their collaborations have been presented at Gibney (Work Up Artists), CPR, Duo Multicultural Arts Center, No Theme Festival, Earthdance, Brick Alley Block Party at Garner Arts Center, The Long Time Texas, Future Dance Festival at the 92nd Street Y, Motion State Dance Festival, Mobile Dance Film Festival, The Dance Complex, and the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought; and they have been awarded artist residencies through the New Directions Choreography Lab at The Ailey School, Marble House, The Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Visionary, MOtiVE Brooklyn, Mana Contemporary, and the Tisch Summer Dance Residency at NYU. Their performing and teaching practices are deeply tied into their dance making. As performers, they’ve worked with Doug Varone, Kathy Westwater, Brian Brooks, Joanna Kotze, David Dorfman, and Keith Johnson. They’ve been guest artists at NYU, Swarthmore College, and SUNY Brockport and their work has been commissioned by Roger Williams University, University of Maryland, and Salem State University. Currently they are adjunct faculty at SUNY Purchase and Montclair State, and teach open class throughout NYC. https://nattieandhollis.com/

Glenn Potter-Takata is a Bronx-based media designer and performance artist. His work and designs have been shown at places like Mabou Mines, Gibney Dance Center, Dixon Place, Center for Performance Research, Abrons Art Center, Green Space, Triskelion Arts, CUNY Lehman College, and New York City Children’s Theater. Glenn is a 2023 Bronx Cultural Visions Awards Recipient, a 2022 MAP Fund Award Recipient, a Bronx Dance Fund Awardee, and has received additional support through the Movement Research Artist-in-Residence program, CUNY Dance Initiative, and Rogers Art Loft. Glenn is a teacher of Sound and Video Design at Sarah Lawrence College, where he also received his MFA.

Choreographed by Amanda Hameline in collaboration with dancers

Performed by Amanda Hameline, Sierra Hendrix, Anna Hull, Jace Weyant and Bridget Haile

 

Special thanks to Lake Studios Berlin and Digital Body Lab 2.0 for supporting and influencing an early version of this work.

 Amanda+James Founding Director Amanda Hameline is a Brooklyn-based choreographer, dancer, and designer.Her work has been presented at venues across New York including National Sawdust, Pace Gallery, CPR – Center for Performance Research, Christie’s New York, Triskelion Arts, Dixon Place, David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center, and more. And in Berlin at Lake Street Studios and Cordillera. Her video design work has premiered at Danspace (projection designer for Mina Nishimura), ScreenDance Miami, Triskelion Dance Film Festival, The Dance Place (DC) and more. Amanda received an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence in 2020 and a B.A. in American History and Literature from Harvard University in 2012. Much of her work is informed by her interest and background in historical research. Learn more at www.amandahameline.com

Anna Hull is a New York City based dance and movement artist. She graduated as a Bella Lewitsky award winner from Idyllwild Arts Academy in 2014, and received her BFA in dance from Cornish College of the Arts in 2017. Anna has trained with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, The American Dance Festival, Ate9 Dance Company, and at the Gaga Intensive in Tel Aviv, Israel. She has performed works by Danielle Agami, LeeSaar, Kyle Abraham, Alex Ketley, and Deborah Wolf. In 2017, under the direction of Amanda Hameline, she began collaborating and performing with the production company, Amanda + James, on the full-length electronic dance opera, ‘Lazer Eyes’. Today, Anna continues her work as a dance artist for Amanda + James, and in addition she enjoys dancing in various freelance projects and creating her own movement based studies.