Short Works:
HOMETOWN HITS (2004)
Hometown Hits explores personal stories of gender and identity that are placed in the larger maze of secrets surrounding us culturally and globally. Hometown Hits features NYC performance artist, Michael C. Burke, and traditional Indian Kathak dancer, Rachna Agrawal. Michael’s and Rachna’s stories about hometown biases against gay men and dancing women, highlights the fertile ground in which societal prejudices take root and exposes the cultural cost of revealing and owning one’s own identity in an imaginative mix of movement, text and sound.
EARTHDANCE (1999)
A visually enchanting celebration of
the Earth, EARTHDANCE is inspired by the children’s book
of the same name by Johanne Ryder. It includes music and songs
by vocalists Angela Luna Grano, Judy Dworin and Victoria Christgau
plus recorded music by Sirius Coyote. Costume, set and puppet
design is by Rolande Duprey.
WHEN THE RAINS CAME (1995)
One of JDPP’s most widely toured
pieces, this work (from RAINS) about the aftermath of Chernobyl
juxtaposes images of the complicit and the innocent as black umbrellas
are used to shelter and expose. Music by Cusco
ASCENDING (1995)
An evocative piece about the memory of
loved ones who have passed on – a letting go. With music
by Victor Jara
AXE DANCE (1994)
Three screaming axes cut the stereotypes
of the frog prince and the dying swan in two. Sound design by
Jim Penndorf
MY BODY, MY BODY (1993)
Three women, bound in body bags, gradually
shed their old skin and reclaim their bodies to a rhythmic chant
that twists their turns with humor. Text by Judy Dworin, Sound
score by Jim Penndorf
LOONA (1992)
Movement interwoven with the plaintive
and evocative calls of the loon create a sense of veiled mystery
and timelessness as ocean connects to sky and a dancer takes flight.
Sound design by Jim Penndorf
Mr. SAFE-T (1992)
Using biting humor, movement, and stuffed
dummy Mr. Safe-T, this piece poses questions about love, gender,
and sanity in our contemporary world.
Music by Lesley Gore and the Carpenters; text by Judy Dworin.
TUB (1992)
A woman in a tub converses with an invisible
male presence in the changing shadows of a mysterious and sensual
light - a piece about dominance, contradiction and escape. Set
by Anguss Moss Sound design by Jim Penndorf
AIRWAVES (1992)
A study of the cruelty of war and our
vulnerability to it.
Sound Design by Jim Penndorf
ECHO CHAMBERS (1992)
Inspired by Adrienne Rich's "Diving
into the Wreck", five women move beyond boundaries, ascend
ladders from the sky and transcend the depths.
Original Score by Emily Metcalf
LULU & THE MOON (1990)
A whimsical tale of Man's quest for dominance.
(He loses.)
Set by Anguss Moss/ Sound Design byJim Penndorf
BECOMING (1990)
A celebration of five women's rite of
passage into womanhood.
Music by Flesh & Bone
MOTHER AND CHILD (1990)
A woman embodies both mother and child,
the nurturer and the nurtured, moving as one. Original score by
Julie Lyonn Lieberman and Paul Zimmermann
FIELDS (1989)
A movement meditation based on breath,
cycles, and centering.
Music by David Liang
HE (1989)
A box first becomes a pedestal and then
an object of aggression in this portrayal of the darker sides
of man's ego.
These works are for all ages but are particularly
appropriate for audiences of young people.
