Project History
2017
The Equus Projects has created over site-specific 50 works in 20 States and in Europe. Projects have been commissioned by arts presenters, equine venues and private producers.
Up Next....
January 2018
February 2018
March 2018
THE BREAKING RING, Philadelphia
October 7, 2017
Northwestern Stables
Philadelphia
Physical Listening Workshop
Santa Fe, NM
March 24-26, 2017
with
JoAnna Mendl Shaw
Melissa Bransford Briggs
Machel Jordan
INSITU Mandala
Commissioned BY INSITU Site-Specific Dance Festival, this intrictae score for 24 dancers was created for the Circular Playing Field at Hunters Point, LIC
July 8th & 9th, 2017
INSITU Site Specific Dance Festival
The Arts & Horses Come to Pullman
Horses and dancers come to the historic Pullman landscape on June 10th with a series of short performances that highlight the beauty and grace of both human and equine dancers.
The Breaking Ring:
A Performance Format & Touring Project
A performance that frames the practice of Physical Listening and strategic decision-making in a progression of duet encounters . Small dances are made in real time. The audience witnesses performers taking a deep dive into heightened attending, creating kinetic dialogues that gradually engage spectators as active participant.
Residencies include Physical Listening workshops and and a creation process that invites local movers of all to enter the performance experience. At each venue a unique version of the work is created with Equus Projects dancers and local performers.
Physical Listening Workshops in Europe
January - February 2017
Beacon Center for the Performing Arts Arts Center
Greenock, Scotland
Center for Contemporary Art, Glasgow Scotland
LYMA, Vienna Austria
Zurich, Switzerland
The Breaking Ring: Boston
The Dance Complex, Cambridge MA
March 3-6, 2017
The first iteration of The Breaking Ring premiered at the Dance Complex in Cambridge on March 5th in tandem with master classes at the Dance Complex and at Boston Conservatory.
The Breaking Ring, NYC
Agnis Varis Center for the Performing Arts
Gibney Dance Center
April 23 & 26, 2017
July 2017
The Bates Dance Festival has produced The Equus Projects creation of new works for dancers and horses in 2006, 2008 and in 2011.
Discover the Inter-species Dance
A Movement Workshop with Horses
Santa FE, NM
August 27th
9am - 5pm
with
Creative Problem Solving Institute - 2017 Conference
The Equus Projects presented a full-day workshop session on Physical Listening
Buffalo, NY
On The Edge Performance Workshop
Hosted by UB Music Professor, Jean Kopperud
Dancers' Workshop with Horses
Hosted by UB Music Professor, Jean Kopperud
Buffalo Dancers Master Class: WASTELAND
2016
Physical Listening with Equines
December 16, 2016
10am-5pm
Belos Cavalos Equine Experiential Ranch
Kenwood, CA
Unique opportunity to explore the power of our physical listening in inter-species dialogue.
Information & Registration: Erica Tom
one.curious.creature@gmail.com
Pullman Residency, Postponed to Fall 2017
The Equus Projects in residence at Poe Classical and Pullman Elementary Schools in the Pullman District of south Chicago.
3rd - 6th grade Physical Listening & Movement
Field Trips to Hannberry Horse Farm: Physical listening, movement skills and leadership play out with equine partners.
This residency is generously being funded by the Oppenheimer Family Foundation.
After Image
Swamp DanceFest, UF, July 2016
Collaboration with visual Artist Erin Curry
Dance as task and the intersection of movement making and drawn image. Inspiration for this version of After Image is S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 - an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole. The three expedition members perished. As the work progresses, the substrate occupied by the dancers becomes destabilized and fractured.
Produced by the 2016 UF Swamp DanceFest, UF, Gainesville.
Sedona Artist Colony
June 2016
The Equus Projects joined by choreographer Rachel Barker spent a week in residence at the inaugural season of the Sedona Artist Colony, housed at the Verde Valley School in the heart of the epic landscape of Sedona, AZ. Choreographic materia devised and filmed on four high desert sites.
The Breaking Ring: Round Pen Duets
Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe
June 2016
Movement installation commissioned for the M12 Installation: The Breaking Ring – an installation focused on cruelty to wild horses.
Dance-making via an inter-species lens, focusing on responsive physical listening. The round-pen duets seek authentic kinetic dialogue responding to and shaping given behavior. Spectators are witnessing small dances being shaped in real time. A cycle of six choreographed duets shape the periphery of the space. The 3-hour installation eventually draws willing spectators into a round pen experience.
After Image
Gibney Dance, NYC
May 2016
The movement generates layers of drawn images with the seemingly chaotic markings gradually orchestrated into cohesive visual statement. The performers function in a state of constant decision-making, operating within a sequence of rule structures.Task-based interactions create visual after image and simultaneously expose an emotional terrain that negotiates constant, subtle power shifts.
#Is This A Dance
OnSite NYC
May, June 2016
Merging performance with social research in a choreographed event that looks to define the line between everyday movement and the art-form of dance. Conceived in collaboration with David Norsworthy. Presented at DANY studios for Stella Adler actors. Presented at The Raw Space, Harlem for 40 early, mid and late career Harlem-based artists,
co-produced with the Harlem Arts Alliance
Poe Classical and Pullman Elementary School Residencies
May 2016
JoAnna Mendl Shaw and Sarah Rose Graber teaching 5th and 6th graders in sessions focused on devising text and creating accompanying movement. Collaboration with Be The Groove performer Kevin Brown, introducing body percussion.
Residency funded by Chicago Public Schools
Films: Clint Mosley
The Pullman Project
A Multi-disciplinary, multi-year creation project in collaboration with the Pullman National Monument, Arts Pullman, local Pullman schools and the Historic Pullman Foundation exploring the historic Pullman District and its current unique multi-cultural landscape.
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Community-based multi-generational outreach projects that excavate cultural research
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Workshops and performance projects that engage local residents.
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Creation of live site-specific performance events staged in and around the Pullman National Parks’ buildings that address historic and current themes of race, privilege and "difference.
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Bring horses into the Pullman landscape as part of sited performance works, in connection to movement residencies in the schools and as entry point for dialogue on difference and physical listening.
Inter-species Encounter
Centenary College
April 2016
Commission created for the Gates-Ferry Lecture series. A collaboration between Centenary Equine Studies and the Theater / Dance Department.
The Equus Projects company and Centenary equestrians and horses. a
Featured event at 2016 Intercollegiate National Dressage Competition.
Zurich Creation Lab, Zurich Switzerland
February 2016
The Zurich Creation Lab is an annual workshop taught by Equus projects Artistic Director JoAnna Mendl Shaw and produced by Zurich choreographer, Tina Mantel.
Zurich Creation Lab - February 11-15, 2017
2015
The Pullman Project
Teaching and Research Residency
December 2015
The Equus Projects Artistic Director JoAnna Mendl Shaw and theater director Sarah Rose Graber co-teach at Poe Classical and Pullman Elementary. Conduct preliminary community research for Pullman Project
School residency funded by the Pullman National Monument.
Lane Community College
Eugene, Oregon
November 14-20, 2015
JoAnna Mendl Shaw, Artist in Residence
Modern Technique, Improvisation, Composition, Ballet
Playground Lab for Lane students and Eugene community
Playground Lab performance event.
Dancing with Horses Workshop
In Celebration of Wheatgrass, OnSite NYC
October 11, 2015
Performance installation sited for the North Plaza of Union Square.
An homage to one of NYC’s iconic urban farmers, The Wheatgrass Man, Stewart Borowsky, who has been selling homegrown wheatgrass for over 15 years from his warehouse farm in Brooklyn. Wheatgrass installation built with wheatgrass flats, soil and farming tools.
Funded by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
SUNY Potsdam, Crane Plaza
This is a Dance
September 2015
A movement installation created for the Crane Plaza at SUNY Potsdam with a cast off 16 dancers. The 30-minute installation featured a series of task-based scores that moved 74 audience members and constructed a kaleidescopic mandala with 400 apples. The work was commissioned by the SUNY Potsdam Theatre & Dance Department with funding from the New York State Dance Force, NYSCA.
Film: Earth Poem
Elizabeth, CO
July 2015
A film by LA based filmmaker, Gabe Bienczycki shot on the ranch of equine trainer, Anna Twinney, in Elizabeth, Colorado.
Gabe Bienczycki
Zebra Visual: http://www.zebravisual.com/aboutgabe/
Grazing Gracefully
Snug Harbor Cultural Center
Staten Island, NY
June 27, 2015
Commissioned by the Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island.
Grazing Gracefully was created for a cast of five dancers and two local Staten Island ponies from the Seguine Equestrian Center.
The Pullman Project: Launch
A Multi-disciplinary, multi-year creation project in collaboration with the Pullman National Monument, Arts Pullman, local Pullman schools and the Historic Pullman Foundation that will bring visibility to the historic role the Pullman District played in Chicago and its current unique multi-cultural landscape.
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Workshops and performance projects that engage local residents.
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Site-specific performance events that address historic and current themes of race, privilege and "difference."
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Horses are brought into Pullman as part of sited performance works, in connection to movement residencies in the schools and as entry point for dialogue on difference and physical listening.
Elephant Shenanigans, OnSite NYC
New York City
May 1, May 30th & 31st, 2015
Created by choreographer, David Norsworthy for OnSite NYC
A traveling choreographic installation for four dancers and inflatable elephant that travels through the streets of New York City.
May 2015 version of Elephant Shenanigans performed for a total of 8 hours and traveled 50 city blocks.
Funded by The Harkness Foundation.
2014
(Com)Passion
Idlenot Farm
Clinton, CT
November 2014
Collaboration: JoAnna Mendl Shaw, West African Dancer, Lacina Couliably (Burkina Faso) & Equestrian, Patricia Norcia.
The intersection of West African dance and classical dressage and the common ground rooted in rhythm, listening and compassion.
Håstdans på Hovdala: A Documantary
Film Screenings
Filmmaker, David Fishel.
Produced by The Equus Projects
Håstdans på Hovdala has been screened at:
Lincoln Center Dance on Film, NYC; Limerick Light Moves Festival, Ireland; Festival of the Moving Body, SUNY Stony Brook NY; American Dance Festival, Durham NC; The Sweden House, NYC; Bud Warner Library, Steamboat Springs, CO; Lane Community College Eugene, OR; SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam NY; Private Screening, San Francisco CA; Nyack Film Festival, NY; Manmade Film Studios, Denver CO; The Equus Film Festival, NYC; Preservation Hall, Wellfleet MA; Hassleholm, Sweden; Tanzhaus Zurich, Switzerland; CCA Glasgow, Scotland; CCA Santa Fe NM.
Nattdans pa Hovdala
Hovdala Castle, Hassleholm Sweden
July 26 - August 3, 2014
An evening length work commissioned by the Swedish theater company, Klinten Kultur. Site-specific event craeted for the courtyard of the historic Hovdala Castle in Hassleholm, Sweden. Nattdans featured the Klinten Kultur cast of young adults with autism, The Equus Projects dancers, Swedish dancers, live percussionist Tina Quartey and Fire Artist Amanda van Rheinberg.
Elephant Shenanigans, OnSite NYC
May 2014
Elephant Shenanigans created as a traveling installation for NYC Streets. The 8-hour event, performed in two installations, featured two casts of 4 dancers each and a large inflatable elephant.
Creator, David Norsworthy.
VIDEO: Elephant Shenanigans 2014
Hastdans pa Hovdala, A Documantary
Dance on Film Festival, NYC
Lincoln Center, NYC
February 2014
Hastdans pa Hovdala was screened at the Lincoln Center Dance on Film Festival on February 1, 2014, followed by a panel with DFA curator JoAnna Ney, Equus Artistic Director JoAnna Mendl Shaw, Equus Projects dancers Carlye Eckert and Jessica Martineau and filmmaker, David Fishel.
Math Research Lab
January-February 2014
Choreographer and mathematician Lauren Vogelstein spent six weeks with The Equus Projects exploring the application of math principles to choreographic scoring.Studio investigations investigated scoring mechanisms for: Curvatures, Fibonacci Equation,Tessellations
VIDEO: MoMath Research Day: https://vimeo.com/80093496
Circular Celebrations, OnSite NYC -
Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, NYC
December 9, 2014
A movement Installation created for Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, the park adjacent to the United Nations. A series of circular choreographic scores celebrating peace-keeping and negotiation spirit of the United Nations.
Created with 16 dancers from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program Percussionist, Jeremy Smith
2013
Physical Listening and Strategic Decision-Making
Strategic Studies Group
Naval War College
Newport, RI
November 1, 2013
The Equus Projects was commissioned to engineer a full day workshop for the Strategic Studies Group of the Naval War College, Newport, RI.
The presentation and demo focused on movement as a dynamic agent for accessing Strategic Thinking and Bold Decision-Making.
Bright Morning Stars
David Lichman North American
Clinton Corners NY
September 13, 2013
Bright Morning Stars was created for the David Lichman North American Northeast Tour Stop performed at Que Sera Farm in Clinton Corners, NY.
The work featured The Equus Projects dancers with riders from the Bard College Equestrian Team and horses from Netherwood Acres Farm, Hyde Park, NY.
Håstdans på Hovdala
Hassleholm Sweden
July 27 – August 4, 2013
Håstdans på Hovdala was commissioned by Klinten Kultur, a Swedish company of young adults with autism. The evening length work created for the historic Hovdala Library ruin in the beechwood forest on owned by the Hovdala Castle, Hassleholm, Sweden.Håstdans på Hovdala featured a cast of Equus Projects dancers, local horses and six Klinten Kultur performers.
Creation of Håstdans på Hovdala was funded in part by the American Embassy in Stockholm and a Frances Mary Hazen Fellowship from the Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Fund.
Garden Six B
OnSite NYC
June 29, 2013
Garden Six B was created for the community Garden Six B in the East Village in NYC.
The piece featured Equus dancer Jessica Martineau and original soundscape composed and performed by tuba player, Santino Lo.
The Secret Garden
OnSite NYC
May 10, 2013
The Secret Garden was created for the south garden at Tudor City Greens. Set to the Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suite #2, the work featured three Equus Projects dancers and eight guest performers who emerged from the spectators.
Based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's children's book, The Secret Garden, the work suggests the fantasy-life of an urban child playing in a small hidden garden. Embedded in the choreography are facts about the architecture and history of the historic buildings of Tudor City.
Take the Time It Takes
OnSite NYC
Judson Church
April 3, 2013
Take the Time It Takes was created for the Judson Church series STUFFED and featured Equus dancers Tal Adler and Fanny Sura. The work is a duet about struggle, loss and the order we create to keep ourselves sane.
Set to the selections from Bartok's 44 Duos, the piece concludes with a snow shower of 1000 paper snowflakes.
Ligne Roset
OnSite NYC
SoHo, NYC
January 7, 2013
The first event of the OnSite NYC's 2013 season, Ligne Roset is an installation created for the SoHo furniture store of the same name. The evening explored possibilities for scripted behavior as performance inside a large party event. Three female performers, each inhabit a furniture constellation in the store, embodying a distinct character throughout the 4-hour event. Dancer Tal Adler entices each women onto duet interludes that provide small diversions witnessed by ambient party goers.
Throughout the evening, Visual Artist Jeff Hopkins created quick sketches of the evening's events.
2012
Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, NYC
OnSite NYC
December 10, 2012
Created for the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, a large city plaza directly adjacent to the United Nations
A task-based movement installation featuring 8 dancers
The improvised score gradually constructed a 10' long glass peace bough constructed with 300 Ronny Brook Farm glass milk bottles
Ronny Brook Farm is one of the primary vendors at the weekly Dag Hammarskjold Green Market.
Migliorelli Apple: Mandalas
OnSite NYC
September 27, 2012
Migliorelli Apple Mandalas was sited for the North Plaza of Union Square, site of the weekly Union Square Green Market where Migliorelli Farms is an iconic vendor.
The choreography for Migliorelli Apple Mandalas is based on a single simple circular score, with dancers working in partners, creating mirror image kinetic patterns.
Migliorelli Apple Mandalas was performed by 21 dancers, members of The Equus Projects and dancers from Alvin Ailey/ Fordham and an unexpected small boy. The piece used 350 Migliorelli apples.
Red, Yellow, Blue
Governor's Island, NYC
July 1, 2012
Commissioned by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and The Drawing Center
for the 2012 River-to-River-Festival.
Sited for Fort Jay on Governor’s Island, NYC.
Red, Yellow, Blue was a 50-minute work for created for 10 dancers and 3 visual artists whose brush strokes determined the movement material.
VIDEO: Red, Yellow, Blue (Excerpts): https://vimeo.com/46362250
Martin's Pretzels
OnSite NYC
June 7, 2012
Created for the location of the Union Square Green Market, the choreography used 50 cardboard boxes from the iconic Green Market vendor, Martin’s Pretzels. The score for 8 dancers was based on a Laban B Scale.
Ronnybrook Milk Bottle Mandalas
OnSite NYC
June 5, 2012
The first of OnSite NYC's mandala scores for public spaces, the milk bottle mandalas were created with the iconic Union Square vendor's, Ronny Brook Farm glass milk bottles.
The performance featured eight dancers work inside a complex task-based choreographic score that engineered the building of several intricate glass bottle mandalas.
250 glass milk bottles were used.
Anita’s Way
OnSite NYC
May 7-11, 2012
Commissioned by chashama, a NYC ats presenter that nurtures artists by transforming unused property into work and presentation space. Anita’s Way was a 40-minute site-specific work made for the Anita's Way alley in midtown Manhattan.
The work investigated the notion of necessity by determining the charcoal marking of the visual artist controlling all movement material.
Visual Artists:
Jeff Hopkins: http://picturescometolife.com/
Alan Bolle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_M._Bolle
Ellen Colcord: http://www.colcordstudioschool.com/efcolcordaolcom/
2011
Herds and Horses
Center for the First American Horse
Morrisville, VT
September 29, 2011
Produced by Center for the First American Horse in Morrisville Vermont, Herds and Horses was a 40-minute work that showcased The Equus Projects' unconventional use choreographic scoring to frame natural horse behavior and gently create performance with horses at liberty.
UnStable Landscape
Bates Dance Festival
August 1-2, 2011
Commissioned by the Bates Dance Festival, UnStable Landscape was an evening-length work created in collaboration with choreographer Carl Flink and Black Label Movement, MN.
Made for 10 Equus and BLM Dancers, 5 horses and 14 dancers from the Bates Festival Un/Stable Landscape was created as a site specific work for the hillside and horse paddocks of Chance Encounter Farm in Pownal, ME.
VIDEO: UnStable Landscape (excerpts) - https://vimeo.com/187565790
Celebration
High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Center
Old Lyme CT
May 1, 2011
Commissioned by High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Center Gala for their 2011 Gala Fundraiser, Celebration featured the Equus Projects company and a cast of 6 equestrians. Celebration was also performed in October 2011 in Prospect Park, NYC.
VIDEO: Celebration - Mount Holkyoke College Version: https://vimeo.com/144939366
2010
Horses & Humans: A Celebration of Dancing & Healing
Prospect Park, Brooklyn NY
October 30, 2010
Horses & Humans: A Celebration of Dancing & Healing was a 4-hour performance installation for 6 dancers, 5 horses and riders created for The Nethermead in Prospect Park.
The project was a collaboration with Gallop NYC Therapeutic Riding Program. A centerpiece of the event was a demo performance with Equus dancers and children and parents from the Gallop NYC programs.
Hudson Valley Wine and Cheese Festival
Rhinebeck, NY
September 12, 2010
For its second season at the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival, The Equus Projects created a series of small ensemble pieces with dancers and horses at liberty.
The company also created an installation without horses sited to travel throughout the wine-tasting halls.
Dancing in Real Time
Heart of the Horse Farm
Vashon Island, WA
August 13-14, 2010
Dancing in Real Time was commissioned by the Heart of the Horse Farm on Vashon Island. The 50-minute work was a collaboration with composer Jami Sieber & percussionist Geoff Johns, both playing live.
The work partnered three Equus Projects' women with a small herd of Polish Arabian at liberty horses, directed by Equus dancer and equestrian Marcel Dou. An interlude for ridden horse threaded throughout thew work.
VIDEO: Dancing in Real Time (Excerpts):
A Celebration of the Horse
Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center
South Hadley MA
July 7, 2010
A Celebration of the Horse was created for the 2010 Eastern Regional Andalusian Horse Conference and performed in the equestrian arena at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. The work was commissioned by ERAHC and featured six horses and riders and four dancers.
VIDEO: Celebration - https://vimeo.com/144939366
A Texas Hillside
OX Ranch
Aubrey TX
May 2010
Texas Hillside was a large scale work created for the OX Ranch in Aubrey, TX with a cast of seven local equestrians and their horses and eight dancers including guest performers from Cirque du Soliel and Texas Womens' University. Equitation styles ranged from dressage to cutting and reining.
2009
Join Up
The Myrna Loy Center for the Performing Arts
Helena Montana
October 12-16, 2009
Join Up was created during a National Performance Network residency for the Myrna Loy Center for the Performing Arts in Helena, Montana. The evening length concert of six pieces and a prologue featured a cast of 19 local horses, 16 riders, The Equus Projects company of four dancers, and guest equestrian David Lichman.
The bull running arena at the Helena State Fairgrounds was transformed into a theatre venue. The performance and open dress rehearsal of Join Up drew crowds of over 1000.
An Afternoon of Horses & Dancers and Wine
Rhinebeck Wine and Food Festival
Rhinebeck, NY
September 2009
An Afternoon of Horses & Dancers & Wine featured a collection of small performance works featuring three horses and riders and four dancers.
Resting Ground
Heart of the Horse Farm
Vashon Island WA
August 2009
Resting Ground, a 50-minute work created for four dancers and seven horses was commissioned by the Heart of the Horse Farm on Vashon Island, Washington. The piece featured a small herd of Polish Arabian horses and live music composed by electric cellist and vocalist, Jami Sieber.
Claustrophobia
Pomona NY
May 2009
Claustrophobia was created for the indoor arena at Country Lee Farm in Pomona, NY. The work was created during the winter and spring of 2009 with two horses from Country Lee
Country Lee was, for seven years, the equine facility where Equus dancers conducted their on-going equine groundskills training. The tiny historic horse farm is located just 40 minutes from downtown Manhattan.
Evening length work for 4 dancers, 2 horses
Performance: May 2009
2008
Processional
NE American College Dance Festival, 2008
Connecticut College
New London CT
February 2008
Processional was commissioned by and created for the 2008 American College Dance Festival at Connecticut College. The work was made for the vast green at Conn College and was performed in the snow by a cast of four horses and riders and four dancers.
Arena Score
Parelli Tour Stop
Harrisburg PA
April 2008
Created for the 2008 Parelli Tour Stop, Harrisburg, PA .
2nd Annual Saratoga Arts Festival
Human-Equine Landscape for Polo Fields
Saratoga Arts Festival
June 2008
Commissioned by the 2nd Annual Saratoga Arts Festival.
Equus company and 14 community performers, age 16 - 72.
Created for the Saratoga Polo Fields
Chance Encounter Farm
Pownal ME
August 2008
A performance installation created for a small horse farm in Pownal Maine, created while in residence at the Bates Dance Festival.
2007
Equine Affaire
Pomona CA
February 2007
Trail Less Traveled performed with singer/songwriter Mary Ann Kennedy singing live.
Gotan Tango created with equestrian Elli Johnson
Performances at Equine Affaire created in collaboration with Five Star Parelli Natural Horsemanship Trainer, David Lichman.
2006
Bach Dances
Heifetz International Music Institute
June 2006
Commissioned by the Heifetz International Music Institute with live string quartet featuring students from the Heifetz International Music Institute..
Heifetz International Music Institute.http://www.heifetzinstitute.org/
Seven Games
Bates Dance Festival
August 2006
Commissioned by the Bates Dance Festival and created for the central green on the Bates College campus.Choreographic forms based on seven basic training games of Parelli Natural Horsemanship.
A collaboration with cellist, vocalist and composer Jami Sieber
Equine Landscape
Perry Mansfield
Steamboat Springs CO
July 2006
Commissioned by Perry Mansfield Performing Arts Camp in Steamboat Springs, CO. The Equus company with Big Apple equestrian and gymnast Sasha Nevidonski plus 15 Perry Mansfield dancers and faculty members, Fort Collins equestrians Kime Orth and Cindy Loader and Steamboat equestrian JoAnne Drahota.
Bach Suite
Heifetz International Music Institute
Wolfeboro, NH
July 2006
Bach Suite was commissioned by the Heifetz International Music Institute. Set to selections from the Bach Cello Suites rearranged for cello and violin, and played live by students from the Heifetz Institute, the performance featured four Equus Projects dancers, three horses and riders.
2005
Rules of Engagement
Claremont Riding Academy, NYC
October 8 - 9 & October 15 - 16, 2005
A collaboration with Video Artist, Janet Biggs, was created for the historic Claremont Riding Academy in New York City.
How cruelty and survival play out in nature and in human-equine relationships.
VIDEO: Rules of Engagement at 2:11: https://vimeo.com/187565790
Walking Score
Perry Mansfield Performing Arts Camp
Steamboat Springs, CO
July 2005
The Walking Score I was conceived at Perry Mansfield during a weeklong residency with the dancers and guest equestrians, Kime Orth and Sasha Nevidonski.
24 dancers, 1 horse and rider
Ellipse
River to River Festival
Oval Garden, NYC
June 2005
Commissioned by the 2005 NYC River to River Festival and created for the Oval Garden adjacent to the 9/11 site.
The site presented us with very specific specifications: The horse must weigh under 1000 lbs, the choreography could not cross the center of the garden until the last moment, the horse could only walk and trot, not canter. The elliptical shape of the choreography was engineered specifically for the site specifications.
2004
Tango
Dutchess County Tour of Historic Farms
Millbrook NY
October 2004
Dutchess County Tour of Historic Farms commissioned The Equus Projects to create an afternoon of works for dancers and horses to be performed at Goose Chase Farm in Millbrook, NY. The program featured four works and a prologue that brought the dancers down a steep hillside to meet their equines and equestrians who approached from a distant field.
Equestrians: Patricia Norcia, Bettina Drummond.
EQUUS I
Virginia Commenwealth University
Richmond VA
April 2004
Equus I was an evening length work commissioned by Virginia Commonwealth University created during a month-long residency at VCU. The workfeatured a cast of two Equus dancers, eight VCU dancers, seven local Richmond riders and their horses, guest equestrian Maddrey Baker with her two horses.The live performance was accompanied by an embedded video Installation created by Video Artist, Peter Richards.
2003
Kalliope II
Shelburne Museum
Shelburne, VT
August 2003
The 2002 production of Kalliope commissioned by The Flynn was re-staged for the Shelburne Museum with new choreography and newly commissioned sound score composed by Steve White, percussionist with the Blue Man Group
Kalliope II featured a cast of
14 dancers
3 children
7 horses
6 riders.
Kalliope, New York City
Riverdate Equestrian Center
Van Cortlandt Park, NYC
June 2003
Kalliope II was mounted at the Riverdale Equestrian Center in Van Cortlandt Park, New York City. The indoor arena at Riverdale was tranformed into a theater space with stadium seating for 250.
This large restaged production of Kalliope featured a cast of 14 dancers, 7 equestrians and 8 horses plus four children. The full evening length work was originally commissioned by The Flynn in Burlington, Vt and created for the grounds of the Shelburne Museum.
2002
Kalliope
The Ethel Walker School
Simsbury CT
October 5-6, 2002
Kalliope was re-staged for the indoor equestrian arena at the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT. The production was co-commissioned by Real Art Ways in Hartford, CT and The Flynn in Burlington, VT with funding from the National Performance Network Creation Fund.
The evening length work was re-staged during a week-long Equus Projects residency at Ethel Walker which included master classes for dancers and a clinic for Ethel Walker equestrians and featured a cast of 14 dancers, 7 horses and 6 riders.
Kalliope
The Shelburne Museum
Shelburne VT
June 2002
Kalliope was a National Performance Network Creation Commission from The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, VT. The full evening length work was create over a six-month collaboration between Equus Projects Artistic Director JoAnna Mendl Shaw and Vermont based equestrians directed by equestrian Kate Selby. The production was created using the historic 19th C. Carousel at Shelburne Museum as its centerpiece. Kalliope featured a cast of 8 NYC dancers, 6 Vermont dancers, 6 equestrians, 7 horses and a cast of 6 children.
2001
Green Mountain Association 75th Anniversary Gala
A Tribute: Site Installation in Memory of 9/11
In Honor of the Horse
Woodstock VT
September 29, 2001
Commissioned by The Green Mountain Horse Association for the GMHA 75th Anniversary Gala. The project featured 6 Vermont dancers, 14 Equus Projects dancers, 6 riders and horses. Initially the installation and performance were to be a celebration. Sadly, the Gala was scheduled barely two weeks after 9/11. Woodstock, VT had suffered many losses in the 9/11 attacks. The Equus Projects created a series of site installations honoring those who perished.
The Equestry
New Haven, VT
June, 2001
An evening length work for 8 dancers and 6 horses and riders - the first in depth exploration of dancing with horses. A collaboration with Equestrian, Kate Selby, owner of The Equestry.