Choreography / 1978

Fractions

This piece was originally a work for video directed by Charles Atlas and Cunningham, shot in the Merce Cunningham Studio in November-December 1977. The video played with the idea of fragmenting images among a number of video monitors, showing action taking place in different areas of the studio. For the stage version, the space was divided into different areas in which different actions took place, as an equivalent of that idea. The choreography included a convoluted duet and a virtuosic solo danced by Karole Armitage and Lisa Fox in different versions of the video, Fractions I and II. Jon Gibson’s music, Equal Distribution, is for solo flute with electronic variation. Mark Lancaster dressed the dancers in multicolored leotards and tights. The décor consisted of a number of panels that descended from the flies. The stage version of Fractions was first performed in February 1978 at Boston English High School, Boston MA, without décor. Décor was added at the City Center Theater, New York NY, in October 1978.

Details

Premiere Date

Feb 26, 1978

Premiere Venue

Boston English High School

Premiere Location

Boston, MA

Music

Jon Gibson, Equal Distribution

Set

Mark Lancaster

Costumes

Mark Lancaster

Duration

31 minutes

Original Cast

Karole Armitage

Louise Burns

Ellen Cornfield

Meg Eginton

Lisa Fox

Chris Komar

Robert Kovich

Jim Self