Escape Velocity (2015)
For solo percussion (and solo dancer)
Choreography by Seán Curran
Duration: 7.5 minutes
Commissioned by Periapsis Music and Dance
World premiere: February 18-19, 2016
GK ArtsCenter, Brooklyn
Sarah Mullins, percussion; Erin Dillon, dancer
This work is available for retail purchase from Theodore Front Musical Literature.
This work is available for institutional purchase from Harrassowitz (OttoEditions) and Theodore Front Musical Literature.
Program note: This collaboration with choreographer Seán Curran was part of The Portrait Project, by Periapsis Music and Dance. It explored the possibilities of one dancer and one musician together on stage, and in Escape Velocity the musician was our percussionist, Sarah Mullins. My original pitch to Seán was that the percussion was like a black hole in the center of the stage, and the dancer would have to navigate around it and contend with its gravitational force. But once we began work on the piece and experienced the actual percussion sounds mixed with his movement sensibilities, it took a much more earthy feel. Ultimately, the work feels like an initiation for the dancer, a set of increasing challenges in fast passages, separated by slow sections to reflect and process.
Behind the scenes: