A Choreographer's Notes on Making a Dance about the Economy

Abstract

A collection of process notes by the choreographer and instigator of Turbulence (a dance about the economy). Jokingly referred to as a collective failure, Turbulence is a dance-based performance that intentionally confuses and tweaks the theatrical frame, disappointing expectations and risking collapse through large ensemble improvisation and intentional lack of ensemble or conceptual coherence. Offering some insight on the movement from concept to choreography, and from political crisis to theatrical experiment, Hennessy introduces some of the key texts, games, attitudes, and debates from which the performance emerged. Hennessy's notes are presented as a list, a brief history of behind-the-scenes commentary. Subtitles included Race & Casting, Piss, What We Learned & Practised, and The Dancer's Body. Other sections point to the work's relationship to queer tactics and queer failure, Anzaldúa's borderlands, the role of torture in democracy, and the language of financialization. The notes include commentary by Julie Phelps, one of the performers, and Abby Crain, a colleague in dance making. Turbulence was developed in residencies in the US and Europe, premiered at Portland's TBA festival in September 2012 and has since toured the US and Europe.