Ecsteriority4 (Part 2) is a 32-minute dance constructed within a landscape of power and desire, where irrational impulses create a feeling of urgency and the inevitability of violation. The sole scenic element is a wall that becomes both an embodied character, pushing the dancers back towards the audience, as well as a physical and psychic boundary. The performers engage in cycles of brief, intense encounters where nothing lingers or hesitates: each impulse is fully and boldly executed. At the far end of these physical extremes, however, exists a palpable sense of vulnerability—the coexistence of fragility and power—and the core of the trio. There is no resolution in this dance. It happens, and then it’s over, and, like violence, the act is instantaneous while the remnants never disappear. Watch the video from the 2015 premiere.
Choreography and Direction by Kimberly Bartosik
Original cast: Dylan Crossman, Marc Mann, Melissa Toogood.
Current cast: Dylan Crossman, Burr Johnson, Jamie Scott.
Lighting Design by Roderick Murray
Sound Design by Kimberly Bartosik with excerpts from Untitled by Animal Collective
Photography by Ryutaro Mishima and Ben McKeown
Ecsteriority4 (Part 2) premiered at Abrons Arts Center May 2015, curated by Laurie Uprichard, and was also presented in 2015 at The Yard in June and MASS MoCA, as a co-presentation with Jacob’s Pillow, in October. 2017 tours include: Dance Place (January) and American Dance Festival (July).
Ecsteriority4 (Part 2) was made possible, in part, with support from FUSED: (French/US Exchange in Dance), supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts in partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French-American Cultural Exchange; Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts at Arizona State University; the Center for Performance Research; The Yard; commissioning funds from Abrons Art Center; and the generosity of private donors.