This powerful work continues to resonate today\, evoking a spirit of survival. Created during the contentious and terrifying AIDS epidemic in the US\, \;Still/Here \;broke boundaries between the personal and the political and exemplifies a form of dance theater that is uniquely American\, vital and timely.
\n\nRaw\, poetic and deeply human\, \;Still/Here \;confronts mortality while celebrating resilience. The movement in \;Still/Here \;is deeply expressive\, combining fluid gestures\, arresting stillness and sudden shifts in dynamics to embody the emotional complexity of survival and vulnerability. The work is simple and sophisticated\, interweaving spoken text\, video portraits\, dance and the abstract nature of gesture into a powerful meditation on living with terminal illness and facing the unknown. Gretchen Bender'\;s visual concept and multimedia environment is joined by music from Kenneth Frazelle (sung by Odetta) and Vernon Reid. Long-time collaborators include Liz Prince (costumes) and Robert Wierzel (lighting).
\n\nAt the heart of \;Still/Here \;are the "\;Survival Workshops: Talking and Moving about Life and Death\,"\; interviews conducted in the early 1990s with people grappling with life-threatening conditions. Their gestures inform the choreography\, their words the lyrics\, their images the stage. They will always be \;Still/Here. This work is dedicated to them.
\n\nStay tuned for information on a \;Big Move \;workshop and panel discussion.
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