sele

cted

b

iblio

gra

ph

y

Sta

rk S

mith

, N

ancy

. 'T

ranc

e S

crip

t: Ju

dson

Pro

ject

Int

ervi

ew w

ith S

teve

Pax

ton,

cond

ucte

d by

Nan

cy S

tark

Sm

ith (

1980

)."

Con

tact

Q

uart

erly

14,

no.

1 (

win

ter

1989

), p

p. 1

4-21

.

Pax

ton,

Ste

ve. '

Dra

fting

In

terio

r T

echn

ique

s.'

Con

tact

Q

uart

erly

18,

no.

1 (

win

ter/

sprin

g

1993

), p

p. 6

1-66

.

Bur

t, R

amse

y. 'S

teve

Pax

ton'

s G

oldb

erg

Var

iatio

ns a

nd t

he A

ngel

of

His

tory

.' T

he D

ram

a

Rev

iew

46,

n.o

. 4 (

win

ter

2002

), p

p. 4

6-64

.

Pax

ton,

Ste

ve. M

ater

ial

for

the

Spi

ne.

DV

D. B

russ

els:

Con

tred

anse

, 20

08.

Ban

es, S

ally

. 'S

teve

Pax

ton:

Phy

sica

l Thi

ngs.

' In

Ter

psic

hore

in

Sne

aker

s: P

ost-

Mod

ern

Dan

ce.

Mid

dlet

own,

Con

n.: W

esle

yan

Uni

vers

ity P

ress

, 201

1,

pp. 5

6-70

.

Dor

uff,

She

r an

d Jo

roen

Fab

ius,

eds

. RT

RS

RS

CH

: S

teve

Pax

ton.

Am

ster

dam

: A

RT

I, 20

11 .

•

Ste

ve

Pax

ton

S

elec

ted

Wo

rks

Dia

:Bea

con

, R

igg

io G

alle

ries

3 B

eekm

an S

tree

t B

eaco

n N

ew Y

ork

845

440

0100

w

ww

.dia

art.

org

• T

his

prog

ram

is m

ade

poss

ible

in p

art

by D

ia's

Boa

rd o

f T

rust

ees

and

the

Nat

iona

l

End

owm

ent

for

the

Art

s.

Cov

er:

Ste

ve P

axto

n, p

erf

orm

anc

e w

ith D

avid

Mos

s at

the

Joy

of

Mov

eme

nt C

ent

er,

Cam

brid

ge,

M

assa

chus

etts

, Jan

uary

19

78.

{.

Dia

Art

Fou

ndat

ion

pres

ents

Ste

ve P

axto

n

Sel

ecte

d W

orks

Frid

ay, O

ctob

er

17-S

unda

y,

Oct

ober

1

9, 2

014,

2

pm

Frid

ay, O

ctob

er

24-S

unda

y,

Oct

ober

26

, 20

14,

2 pm

Cho

reog

raph

y by

Ste

ve P

axto

n

Per

form

ers

K. J

. Ho

lmes

Juri

j Ko

nja

r

Po

lly M

otl

ey

Lis

a N

elso

n

Ste

ve P

axto

n

Ch

amb

erla

in

gal

lery

F

lat,

1964

P

erfo

rmed

by

K. J

. Hol

mes

, Ju

rij K

onja

r, a

nd P

olly

Mot

ley

Fla

t w

as f

irst

perf

orm

ed a

t a

Juds

on T

heat

er W

orks

hop

at J

udso

n C

hurc

h, N

ew Y

ork

, in

19

63.

It of

ficia

lly p

rem

iere

d at

the

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

of

New

Yor

k in

New

Pal

tz, i

n 19

64,

as

part

of

the

Con

cert

for

New

Pal

tz, a

n ev

ent

orga

nize

d by

Jud

son

Dan

ce T

heat

er m

embe

rs.

Ser

ra g

alle

ry

The

Bea

st,

2010

P

erfo

rmed

by

Ste

ve P

axto

n

The

Bea

st p

rem

iere

d at

Bar

yshn

ikov

Art

s C

ente

r's

Jero

me

Rob

bins

The

ater

, N

ew Y

ork.

Ch

amb

erla

in

gal

lery

B

ound

, 19

82

Per

form

ed b

y Ju

rij K

onja

r M

usic

: B

ulga

rian

Sta

te R

adio

and

Tel

evis

ion

Fem

ale

Voc

al C

hoir,

The

Can

adia

n B

rass

, an

d va

rious

sou

ndsc

apes

Bou

nd p

rem

iere

d at

Spa

zioz

ero

, R

ome

, in

1 98

2.

It w

as t

hen

perf

orm

ed a

t th

e K

itche

n,

New

Yor

k, i

n O

ctob

er

1982

, w

hich

pro

duce

d vi

deo

docu

men

tatio

n on

whi

ch t

his

reco

nstr

uctio

n is

bas

ed .

Fla

vin

gal

lery

Sm

ilin

g, 1

967

Per

form

ed b

y (o

n a

rota

ting

basi

s) K

. J. H

olm

es,

Jurij

Kon

jar,

Pol

ly M

otle

y, a

nd L

isa

Nel

son

Smil

ing

prem

iere

d in

Por

tland

, Ore

gon

, as

part

of

an e

veni

ng o

rgan

ized

by

Jack

Eire

ly.

Exc

erpt

from

"Im

prov

isat

ion

Issu

e?"

Con

tact

Q

uart

erly

, 19

87

P.S

. The

art

istic

for

ms

whi

ch s

eem

not

to i

nclu

de a

t le

ast a

deg

ree

of (

prob

ably

) in

vol­

unta

ry im

prov

isat

ion

are

the

alre

ady-

reco

rded

for

ms.

Pai

ntin

g, p

rose

, po

etry

, mus

ic, a

nd

(with

film

and

vid

eo)

danc

e ca

n no

w a

ll ta

ke p

lace

in

the

cryp

t of

set

. Thi

s ch

ange

is n

ot

nece

ssar

ily p

rogr

ess.

How

ever

it is

her

e.

P.P

.S. H

ere'

s a

poss

ible

sca

le. O

ther

s m

ight

mak

e a

diffe

rent

one

. I h

ave,

mys

elf,

at

othe

r tim

es:

Fre

e Im

prov

isat

ion:

(the

oret

ical

im

poss

ibili

ty)

Unc

onsc

ious

ly-f

ound

Im

prov

isat

ion:

(bey

ond

know

ledg

e)

Man

ipul

ated

Im

prov

isat

ion:

(sel

f-gu

ided

tow

ard

taki

ng r

isks

) R

ock

clim

bers

, su

rfer

s, d

ance

rs.

For

mal

Im

prov

isat

ion:

(situ

atio

n de

term

ined

) G

ames

, spo

rts,

dan

ce.

Pos

sibi

litie

s, in

to p

erm

utat

ions

.

Sof

t fo

rms:

(rep

eata

ble

in e

ssen

ce,

not

deta

il) G

ames

aga

in, s

ome

new

mus

ic, J

azz,

soc

ial d

ance

.

For

ms:

(det

ails

com

e in

to f

ocus

) T

he e

xact

ing

pron

unci

atio

n, a

rabe

sque

line

s, p

orta

men

to, t

ango

step

s, m

anip

ulab

le c

hunk

s, "

repe

atab

le"

Fin

e F

orm

s:

(innu

mer

able

exa

ct d

etai

ls, e

ffect

s ca

refu

lly c

alcu

late

d) F

orm

rest

s on

pre

cisi

on o

f ex

ecut

ion

Har

d F

orm

s:

(det

ails

onl

y) F

orm

al q

uest

los

t

Ele

gant

For

ms:

(for

m re

sts

solid

ly o

n in

num

erab

le c

aref

ully

cal

ibra

ted

effe

cts,

the

deta

ils) T

his

calib

ratio

n

affe

cts

form

. Tho

roug

h an

alys

is s

ound

the

ory.

Mas

s of

inf

orm

atio

n in

det

aile

d ef

fect

s

is th

e 'c

ritic

al m

ass'

-the

pr

oof

of k

now

ledg

e, c

ertif

icat

ion

of c

onsc

ious

ness

, pl

us t

he

impr

int

of i

ntui

tion,

taki

ng t

he f

orm

pas

t its

wid

ely

know

n m

anife

stat

ions

into

sur

pris

ing

leap

s of

its

logi

c, t

o su

rpris

e us

with

com

posi

tiona

l po

nder

. T

he b

orni

ng o

f ar

chet

ypes

.

We

cann

ot s

hake

them

.

Per

fect

For

ms:

•

(our

form

al fa

ntas

y) T

he m

usic

of

sphe

res;

New

toni

an, t

hen

Ein

stei

nian

, the

n qu

antu

m

sort

s of

str

uctu

res.

The

far

limits

of

a fo

rm,

all-e

ncom

pass

ing,

pre

sum

ably

. Rig

orou

sly

expo

stul

ated

. D

etai

ls a

re n

ew, o

r re

-see

n. M

ythi

c an

d un

gras

pabl

e.

-Ste

ve

Pax

ton

Th

e R

edu

ctio

n o

f S

o M

uch

In

to S

o L

ittl

e

In o

ver

fifty

yea

rs o

f cr

eatin

g an

d pe

rfor

min

g da

nce,

Ste

ve P

axto

n's

inve

stig

atio

n in

to

the

esse

ntia

l de

velo

pmen

t of

mov

emen

t ha

s en

gage

d th

e m

yste

ry o

f th

e pa

ssag

e

from

tho

ught

to

act

, an

d fr

om a

ct t

o th

ough

t. A

nim

atin

g la

ngua

ge o

r vi

sual

rep

rese

n­

tatio

n th

roug

h da

nce

is o

f lit

tle i

nter

est

to h

im. H

is c

hore

ogra

phy

is in

stea

d bu

ilt f

rom

a re

silie

nt i

nves

tigat

ion

of t

he p

ract

ice

and

proc

ess

of d

ance

im

prov

isat

ion.

Whi

le

danc

e im

prov

isat

ion

is c

omm

only

alig

ned

with

spo

ntan

eous

act

ion

or l

oose

fra

mew

orks

,

Pax

ton'

s pr

actic

e fo

cuse

s on

mom

ents

of

self-

awar

enes

s th

at u

nder

line

both

the

pote

ntia

l of

ges

ture

and

the

int

ensi

ty o

f be

ing

beho

lden

to

one'

s bo

dy.

His

wor

k

med

itate

s on

the

bod

y, a

nd t

he h

abits

, im

puls

es,

stre

ngth

s, w

eakn

esse

s, a

nd

varia

tions

of

surp

rise

that

aris

e th

roug

hout

-affe

cts

that

ser

ve h

im i

n tr

ansl

atin

g

lived

exp

erie

nce.

Mos

t ea

rnes

tly,

Pax

ton

is a

cho

reog

raph

ic

prov

ocat

eur,

cre

atin

g an

d de

finin

g ne

w

mov

emen

t pr

actic

es t

hat

have

influ

ence

d ge

nera

tions

of

chor

eogr

aphe

rs a

nd d

ance

rs.

His

exp

ansi

ve e

thos

of

impr

ovis

ed a

ctio

n, i

nclu

ding

the

mov

emen

t te

chni

que

Con

tact

Impr

ovis

atio

n, a

dyn

amic

, pa

rtne

r-ba

sed

danc

e fo

r w

hich

he

is w

ell

know

n, a

nd h

is

equa

lly r

adic

al t

echn

ique

ca

lled

the

Sm

all

Dan

ce (

"Sta

ndin

g st

ill a

nd f

eelin

g yo

ur

body

. D

oing

abs

olut

ely

noth

ing

but

letti

ng y

our

skel

etal

mus

cles

hol

d yo

u up

right

."1 ),

has

fore

ver

chan

ged

the

prac

tice

of d

ance

. H

is i

mm

easu

rabl

e m

ark

cont

inue

s in

the

aest

hetic

and

tec

hnic

al

purs

uits

of

youn

ger

chor

eogr

aphe

rs,

incl

udin

g Je

rom

e B

el,

Bor

is C

harm

atz,

Ann

e T

eres

a D

e K

eers

mae

ker,

Ral

ph L

emon

, X

avie

r Le

Roy

, Meg

Stu

art,

and

even

Mik

hail

Bar

yshn

ikov

, am

ong

othe

rs. T

o hi

s fo

llow

ers,

he

is a

gen

erou

s

perf

orm

er a

nd t

each

er,

a re

vela

tory

mov

er w

ho p

rivile

ges

paus

es a

s m

uch

as a

ccen

ts,

exte

ndin

g ou

twar

d at

trib

utes

of

our

con

scio

us a

nd u

ncon

scio

us s

elve

s.

In 1

960,

Pax

ton

bega

n pa

rtic

ipat

ing

in c

ompo

ser

Rob

ert

Dun

n's

com

posi

tion

clas

ses

held

at

the

Mer

ce C

unni

ngha

m

stud

ios

in N

ew Y

ork

City

, a

para

mou

nt e

xper

ienc

e

that

enc

oura

ged

him

to

expe

rimen

t w

ith n

ew a

ppro

ache

s to

cho

reog

raph

y. "

The

Rob

ert

Dun

n cl

asse

s w

ere

a w

ay t

o ge

t do

wn

to w

hat

I m

eant

by

form

or

wha

t in

ter­

este

d m

e as

for

m .

.. I w

as i

nter

este

d in

man

ifest

ing

the

form

and

let

ting

the

cont

ent

adju

st."

2 A

long

with

a f

ew p

eers

in

the

Dun

n w

orks

hops

, in

clud

ing

Sim

one

For

ti an

d

Yvo

nne

Rai

ner,

Pax

ton

foun

ded

Juds

on

Dan

ce T

heat

er i

n 19

62,

a gr

oup

know

n

for

isol

atin

g pe

dest

rian

mov

emen

t, ro

utin

e ac

tiviti

es t

hat

coul

d no

t be

con

stru

ed a

s

sym

bolic

. D

urin

g a

wor

ksho

p he

ld i

n th

e ba

sem

ent

gym

nasi

um o

f Ju

dson

Mem

oria

l

Chu

rch,

Pax

ton

first

per

form

ed h

is e

arly

im

prov

ised

sol

o F

lat

(196

4),

whi

ch i

nvol

ves

wal

king

, dr

essi

ng, u

ndre

ssin

g, a

nd e

xten

ded

mom

ents

of

stan

ding

stil

l. In

cre

atin

g F

lat,

he le

arne

d to

res

ist

"eve

ryth

ing

that

I k

new

abo

ut d

ance

"3 as

a m

eans

to e

xam

ine

the

mos

t su

btle

gra

datio

ns i

n fo

rm a

nd t

ime.

"M

y in

quiry

was

not

so

muc

h ab

out

esca

ping

the

leg

acy

of d

ance

as

disc

over

ing

the

sour

ce o

f it.

Whe

re w

as s

omet

hing

pre-

lega

cy,

pre-

cultu

ral?

Thi

s w

as t

he f

asci

natin

g qu

estio

n of

tho

se d

ays

for

me .

...

The

ans

wer

of

cour

se w

as r

ight

und

er m

y no

se.

I pla

ced

the

chai

r in

the

spa

ce a

nd

bega

n to

sta

nd."

4

The

196

0s w

ere

a pr

olifi

c tim

e fo

r P

axto

n. H

e cr

eate

d co

ncep

tual

pie

ces

led

by

prom

pts,

inc

ludi

ng t

he d

uet

Sm

iling

(19

67),

in

whi

ch t

wo

peop

le u

nass

umin

gly

stan

d

and

smile

for

fiv

e m

inut

es.

Oth

er e

arly

wor

ks i

ncor

pora

ted

scrip

ts o

r sc

ores

, suc

h

as P

roxy

( 1

961

), c

reat

ed f

rom

a s

elec

tion

of s

port

s ph

otog

raph

s, o

r "p

hoto

-sco

re,"

a de

vice

he

late

r us

ed i

n F

lat.

He

also

mad

e pi

eces

tha

t in

volv

ed s

pect

ator

eng

age­

men

t, in

clud

ing

Aud

ienc

e P

erfo

rman

ce #

1 an

d A

udie

nce

Per

form

ance

#2

(1

968)

,

whi

ch r

equi

red

spec

tato

rs t

o w

alk

in a

col

labo

rativ

e m

anne

r, a

nd t

he p

erfo

rman

ce

inst

alla

tion

Phy

sica

l T

hing

s (1

966)

, pa

rt o

f 9

Eve

ning

s: T

heat

re a

nd E

ngin

eerin

g he

ld

at t

he 6

9th

Reg

imen

t A

rmor

y in

New

Yor

k, a

con

stru

cted

en

viro

nmen

t th

at c

ente

red

on a

n in

flate

d tu

nnel

tha

t th

e au

dien

ce w

alke

d th

roug

h to

enc

ount

er p

rops

, im

age

proj

ectio

ns,

soun

ds,

and

perf

orm

ers.

By

the

early

197

0s,

Pax

ton

turn

ed h

is f

ocus

exc

lusi

vely

tow

ard

impr

ovis

atio

n in

solo

, due

t, an

d gr

oup

arra

ngem

ents

. D

urin

g th

is t

ime

he c

ofou

nded

Gra

nd U

nion

, a

danc

e th

eate

r co

llect

ive

root

ed i

n im

prov

isat

ion,

and

beg

an t

each

ing

impr

ovis

atio

nal

tech

niqu

es a

t co

llege

s an

d un

iver

sitie

s. W

hile

con

duct

ing

a st

uden

t cl

ass

at O

berli

n

Col

lege

in

1972

, he

cre

ated

the

wor

k M

agne

sium

, w

hich

inv

olve

d ei

ght

mal

e da

ncer

s

prac

ticin

g pa

rtne

r-ba

sed

and

grav

ity-le

d im

prov

isat

iona

l ex

erci

ses.

A f

ew m

onth

s

late

r, P

axto

n in

vite

d st

uden

ts f

rom

Obe

rlin

and

Ben

ning

ton

Col

lege

to

colla

bora

te

with

him

in c

once

ivin

g op

en-p

roce

ss

perf

orm

ance

s at

the

Joh

n W

eber

Gal

lery

in

New

Yor

k. T

his

~en

t es

tabl

ishe

d C

onta

ct I

mpr

ovis

atio

n, w

hich

qui

ckly

inc

ited

an

inte

rnat

iona

l m

ovem

ent

that

has

rem

aine

d st

rong

eve

r si

nce.

By

the

early

198

0s,

Pax

ton

had

shift

ed h

is a

ttent

ion

tow

ard

crea

ting

duet

wor

k, m

ost

nota

bly

with

chor

eogr

aphe

r Li

sa N

elso

n, a

nd c

reat

ing

solo

im

prov

isat

ions

. S

ince

the

n, h

is w

ork

has

been

prim

arily

sup

port

ed a

nd p

rese

nted

abr

oad,

due

in

part

to

the

popu

larit

y of

~ ! l

Con

tact

Im

prov

isat

ion,

and

as

a re

sult

Am

eric

an a

udie

nces

hav

e ra

rely

exp

erie

nced

the

inst

rum

enta

l m

agni

tude

of

his

chor

eogr

aphy

.

The

pro

gram

at

Dia

:Bea

con

cele

brat

es P

axto

n's

influ

entia

l le

gacy

, and

the

wor

ks

pres

ente

d ad

dres

s th

e va

ried

way

s hi

s pr

actic

e ha

s re

volu

tioni

zed

the

use

of i

mpr

ovi­

satio

n in

dan

ce-p

riorit

izin

g co

mpo

sitio

ns t

hat

are

prov

oked

fro

m a

bol

d re

lianc

e

on g

ravi

ty, i

ntui

tive

gest

ures

and

act

ions

, na

tura

lly s

ense

d tim

e, a

nd r

edef

initi

ons

of c

hore

ogra

phic

spa

ce.

Sel

ecte

d w

ith t

he a

rtis

t, th

e pr

ogra

m i

nclu

des

piec

es f

rom

thro

ugho

ut

his

care

er,

incl

udin

g th

e ea

rly w

orks

Fla

t an

d S

mili

ng.

His

sol

o w

ork

is

evid

ence

d in

Bou

nd (

198

2),

perf

orm

ed b

y Ju

rij K

on ja

r, w

hich

tra

ces

a m

an's

psy

cho­

logi

cal j

ourn

ey t

hrou

gh v

ario

us m

omen

ts i

n hi

s lif

e, a

nd T

he B

east

(20

10),

pe

rfor

med

by P

axto

n, a

cul

min

atio

n of

his

dan

cing

life

dis

tille

d fr

om n

uanc

ed m

ovem

ents

of

his

mat

ured

bod

y. E

vide

nced

in

this

pro

gram

, hi

s in

vest

igat

ion

into

the

eni

gmat

ic n

atur

e

of m

ovem

ent

cont

inue

s. "

I'm s

till

invo

lved

in d

ance

bec

ause

dan

ce h

as g

iven

me

a

lot

to c

onsi

der.

I'm

stil

l co

nsid

erin

g it.

I'll

pro

babl

y go

on

cons

ider

ing

it be

caus

e th

ese

ques

tions

don

't go

aw

ay, l

ike

wha

t th

e pe

rson

is,

wha

t it'

s ca

pabl

e of

."5

Kel

ly K

ivla

nd, a

ssis

tant

cur

ator

no

tes

1. S

teve

Pax

ton,

"In

the

Mid

st o

f S

tand

ing

Stil

l S

omet

hing

Els

e is

Occ

urrin

g an

d th

e N

ame

for

that

is th

e S

mal

l Dan

ce.'

Inte

rvie

w w

ith P

eter

Hul

ton,

The

atre

Pap

ers

serie

s 1,

no.

4 (

197

7),

p. 3

.

2.

Pax

ton,

in N

ancy

Sta

rk S

mith

, "T

ranc

e S

crip

t: Ju

dson

Pro

ject

Int

ervi

ew w

ith S

teve

Pax

ton,

con

duct

ed

by N

ancy

Sta

rk S

mith

," C

onta

ct

Qua

rter

ly 1

4, n

o. 1

(w

inte

r 19

89),

p.

16.

3.

Pax

ton,

"T

he S

tudi

es P

roje

ct:

Tra

n sc

ript

of B

ill T

. Jon

es a

nd S

teve

Pax

ton

in d

iscu

ssio

n at

Mov

emen

t R

esea

rch,

" C

onta

ct

Qua

rter

ly 9

, no

. 3 (

fall

1984

), p

. 30.

4.

Pax

ton,

"S

teve

Pax

ton:

Ext

raor

dina

rily

Ord

inar

y an

d O

rdin

arily

Ext

raor

dina

ry,"

Con

tact

Qua

rter

ly 2

6,

no.

1 (w

inte

r/sp

ring

2001

),

p. 3

7.

5.

Pax

ton,

in S

mith

, 'T

rane

e S

crip

t: Ju

dson

Pro

ject

Int

ervi

ew w

ith S

teve

Pax

ton,

con

duct

ed b

y N

ancy

Sta

rk S

mith

,' p.

21.

Pro

gra

m M

ap

1. C

ham

berla

in g

alle

ry

Fla

t, 19

64

2. S

err

a ga

llery

T

he B

east

, 20

10

3. C

ham

berla

in g

alle

ry

Bou

nd,

1982

4.

Fla

vin

galle

ry

Smil

ing

, 19

67

•

0- 0 0 l :ti

t ca

fe

adm

issi

ons

Wei

ner-

t==

==

=--

-~~

---_

j

~

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TR

AN

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in m

m

land

scap

ing,

ve

stib

ule,

an

d fo

reco

urt

mm

<

Tra

kas

Bea

con

Poi

nt

Long

Doc

k P

ark

Fla

vin

4.

Sm

iling

, 19

67

@J0

c=J0

I~

Hei

zer

An

dre

Le W

itt

Le W

itt

Hel

zer

LeW

itt

LI

Wei

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...

..... ~

An

dre

I R

ich

ter

Jud

d

San

db

ack

I>

C-ff J

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;

I I

I I

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her

We

iner

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'" ; I

Rym

an

r ]

And

re

J:~E

I

1w

Rym

an I

I I

Kaw

ara

3.B

oun~

19

821

I I ltf

t1 . I

S

mit

hso

n

-r:u

ys

Ch

amb

erla

in

I 1

. F

lat,

1 96

4

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win

La

wle

r ~

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w

est

gard

en

play

s co

ntin

uous

ly t

hrou

ghou

t th

e da

y

I_..L

I i-,

,,i If

Bo

urg

eois

A

nd

re

Ser

ra

upst

airs

N

aum

an

mez

zani

ne

2. T

he B

east

, 201

0 do

wns

tairs

Neu

hau

s ~

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pl

ays

seve

n m

inut

es b

efor

e ev

ery

hour

A

nd

re>

Join

t by

app

oint

men

t

bio

gra

ph

ies

Ste

ve P

axto

n w

as b

orn

in F

lags

taff,

Ariz

ona,

in 1

939

. He

bega

n hi

s m

ovem

ent

stud

ies

in g

ymna

stic

s an

d th

en t

rain

ed i

n m

artia

l art

s, b

alle

t, an

d m

oder

n da

nce

. In

sum

mer

195

8,

Pax

ton

atte

nded

the

Am

eric

an D

ance

Fes

tival

at

Con

nect

icut

Col

lege

, w

here

he

trai

ned

with

cho

reog

raph

ers

Mer

ce C

unni

ngha

m a

nd J

ose

Lim

on.

Soo

n af

ter,

he

mov

ed to

New

Yor

k C

ity.

He

was

a m

embe

r of

the

Jos

e Li

mon

Com

pany

in

1959

and

a m

embe

r of

the

Mer

ce C

unni

ngha

m D

ance

Com

pany

fro

m 1

961

to 1

964.

He

was

a fo

undi

ng m

embe

r

of t

he s

emin

al d

ance

col

lect

ives

Jud

son

Dan

ce T

heat

er (

1962

-64)

an

d G

rand

Uni

on

(197

0-76

).

Thr

ough

out

his

care

er,

Pax

ton'

s si

ngul

ar i

nves

tigat

ion

of i

mpr

ovis

atio

n ha

s

open

ed n

ew i

deas

in

crea

ting

and

com

posi

ng c

hore

ogra

phic

wor

k. I

t was

dur

ing

his

time

with

Gra

nd U

nion

tha

t he

firs

t fo

rmul

ated

Con

tact

Im

prov

isat

ion,

a d

ynam

ic, p

artn

er-b

ased

danc

e th

at i

s no

w p

ract

iced

wor

ldw

ide.

Fro

m C

onta

ct I

mpr

ovis

atio

n, h

e de

velo

ped

the

mov

emen

t pr

actic

e M

ater

ial f

or t

he S

pine

in

1986

, w

hich

exa

min

es m

ovem

ent

outw

ard

from

the

cor

e of

the

bod

y.

Pax

ton'

s w

ork

has

rece

ntly

bee

n pr

esen

ted

at t

he M

useu

m o

f M

oder

n A

rt,

New

Yor

k

(201

2);

Tan

z im

Aug

ust,

Ber

lin (

2013

);

Spa

nski

Bor

ci C

ultu

ral

Cen

tre,

Lju

blja

na (

2014

);

9th

Inte

rnat

iona

l C

onte

mpo

rary

Dan

ce F

estiv

al, V

enic

e (2

014)

; an

d T

anzw

erks

tatt

Eur

opa,

Mun

ich

(201

4).

In 2

013,

D

ia A

rt F

ound

atio

n pr

esen

ted

Nig

ht S

tand

(20

04),

a w

ork

by

Pax

ton

and

Lisa

Nel

son,

at

Dia

:Che

lsea

in N

ew Y

ork

City

. Pax

ton

has

rece

ived

two

New

Yor

k D

ance

and

Per

form

ance

Aw

ards

, or

Bes

sies

, in

198

7 an

d 19

99,

and

gran

ts f

rom

the

Nat

iona

l E

ndow

men

t fo

r th

e A

rts;

Roc

kefe

ller

Fou

ndat

ion;

Con

tem

pora

ry P

erfo

rman

ce

Art

s F

ound

atio

n; C

hang

e, I

nc.;

and

Exp

erim

ents

in

Art

and

Tec

hnol

ogy.

He

rece

ived

a

Gug

genh

eim

Fel

low

ship

in

1995

and

, mos

t re

cent

ly,

he r

ecei

ved

the

Gol

den

Lion

for

Life

time

Ach

ieve

men

t fr

om t

he 2

014

Dan

ce B

ienn

ale,

Ven

ice.

He

has

been

a c

ontr

ibut

ing

edito

r to

Con

tact

Q

uart

er~

and

pub

lishe

d th

e D

VD

Mat

ena/

for

the

Spi

ne i

n 20

08.

He

lives

in V

erm

ont.

K. J

. Ho

lmes

is

a da

nce

artis

t, ac

tor,

sin

ger,

and

tea

cher

. S

he h

as b

een

expl

orin

g

impr

ovis

atio

n as

pro

cess

and

per

form

ance

sin

ce 1

981

and

has

colla

bora

ted

with

Sim

one

For

ti, K

aren

Nel

son,

Lis

a N

elso

n an

d Im

age

Lab,

and

Ste

ve P

axto

n. I

n N

ew Y

ork

her

wor

k ha

s be

en p

rese

nted

in

at t

he C

hoco

late

Fac

tory

The

ater

, D

ansp

ace

Pro

ject

, D

TW

,

Mov

emen

t R

esea

rch

at t

he J

udso

n C

hurc

h, D

ance

Wor

ks i

n P

rogr

ess

at t

he K

itche

n,

Per

form

ance

Spa

ce 1

22,

and

the

Vis

ion

Jazz

Fes

tival

. Hol

mes

tea

ches

at

New

Yor

k

Uni

vers

ity's

Exp

erim

enta

l T

heat

re W

ing

and

Mov

emen

t R

esea

rch,

and

she

con

duct

s

wor

ksho

ps a

nd p

erfo

rms

inte

rnat

iona

lly.

She

is

curr

ently

dev

elop

ing

her

new

pie

ce H

/C

SV

NT

DR

AC

ON

ES

, whi

ch s

he b

egan

as

an A

rtis

t-in

-Res

iden

ce

with

Mov

emen

t R

esea

rch

in 2

012-

14.

She

liv

es in

Bro

okly

n.

Juri

j Ko

nja

r is

a d

ance

r, c

hore

ogra

pher

, an

d im

prov

iser

. H

e w

as b

orn

in L

jubl

jana

,

Slo

veni

a, w

here

he

rece

ived

his

firs

t te

chni

cal

danc

e tr

aini

ng.

He

stud

ied

mus

ic i

n Lo

ndon

and

cont

empo

rary

dan

ce a

t P

erfo

rmin

g A

rts

Res

earc

h an

d T

rain

ing

Stu

dios

(P

.A.R

.T.S

.) in

Bru

ssel

s. H

e ha

s w

orke

d w

ith L

es B

alle

ts C

de

la B

, cho

reog

raph

ers

Maj

a D

elak

, Jan

ez

Jans

a, B

oris

Cha

rmat

z, a

nd M

artin

Kilv

ady,

and

the

Tun

ing

Ens

embl

e, a

gro

up l

ed b

y Li

sa

Nel

son.

In

2007

he

suf

fere

d a

head

inj

ury

that

shi

fted

his

focu

s to

war

d th

e po

tent

ial

of t

he p

rese

nt m

omen

t. In

200

9,

he b

egan

to

exam

ine

Wal

ter

Ver

din

's v

ideo

of

Ste

ve

Pax

ton'

s G

oldb

erg

Var

iatio

ns, w

hich

ins

pire

d th

e de

velo

pmen

t of

Kon

jar's

ow

n pe

rson

al

impr

ovis

atio

n pr

actic

e. I

n re

cent

yea

rs,

he c

reat

ed s

olo

wor

ks s

uch

as U

lyss

es (

2007

),

Gol

dber

g V

aria

tions

(20

1 0)

, an

d F

or J

ulia

no M

er-K

ham

is (

2013

),

and

has

wor

ked

on t

he

reco

nstr

uctio

n of

Ste

ve P

axto

n's

solo

Bou

nd (

1982

).

He

lives

in L

jubl

jana

.

Po

lly M

otl

ey i

s a

danc

er a

nd c

hore

ogra

pher

. H

er w

ork

has

been

pre

sent

ed i

n N

ew Y

ork

at t

he A

sia

Soc

iety

, B

arys

hnik

ov A

rts

Cen

ter,

Dan

spac

e P

roje

ct, t

he K

itche

n, D

ance

The

atre

Wor

ksho

p, M

ovem

ent

Res

earc

h, a

s w

ell

as n

atio

nally

at

Jaco

b's

Pill

ow D

ance

Fes

tival

, in

Bec

ket,

Mas

sach

uset

ts,

Col

orad

o D

ance

Fes

tival

, Fly

nn T

heat

re,

Bur

lingt

on,

Ver

mon

t; B

ates

Col

lege

Mus

eum

of

Art

, Le

wis

ton,

Mai

ne;

and

the

Con

tem

pora

ry A

rts

Mus

eum

, H

oust

on.

She

has

ser

ved

on t

he f

acul

ties

of t

he U

nive

rsity

of

Hou

ston

, N

arop

a

Uni

vers

ity i

n B

ould

er,

and

Reg

is U

nive

rsity

in

Den

ver.

Mot

ley

earn

ed a

n M

FA

fro

m

the

Uni

vers

ity o

f C

olor

ado

with

a th

esis

on

the

inte

ract

ive

rela

tions

hips

of

vide

o an

d

perf

orm

ance

. H

er i

nter

med

ia c

olla

bora

tions

with

film

and

vid

eo a

rtis

t M

olly

Dav

ies

have

been

sho

wn

in t

he U

nite

d S

tate

s, E

urop

e, a

nd A

sia.

She

liv

es in

Ver

mon

t.

Lis

a N

els

on

is

a ch

oreo

grap

her,

im

prov

isat

iona

l pe

rfor

mer

, an

d co

llabo

rativ

e ar

tist.

Thr

ough

out

the

1970

s sh

e in

vest

igat

ed d

iver

se a

ppro

ache

s to

dan

ce i

mpr

ovis

atio

n,

incl

udin

g pe

rfor

min

g w

ith D

anie

l N

agrin

's W

orkg

roup

, an

d ha

s be

en e

xplo

ring

the

role

of

the

sens

es i

n th

e pe

rfor

man

ce a

nd o

bser

vatio

n of

mov

emen

t ev

er s

ince

. H

er i

nten

sive

prac

tice

in d

ance

and

vid

eo l

ed h

er to

dev

elop

an

appr

oach

to

spon

tane

ous

com

posi

tion

and

perf

orm

ance

cal

led

Tun

ing

Sco

re.

Nel

son

perf

orm

s an

d te

ache

s in

tern

atio

nally

and

mai

ntai

ns l

ong-

term

col

labo

ratio

ns w

ith a

rtis

ts i

nclu

ding

Im

age

Lab,

Dan

iel

Lepk

off,

Ste

ve P

axto

n, S

cott

Sm

ith, a

nd C

athy

Wei

s. N

elso

n re

ceiv

ed a

New

Yor

k D

ance

and

Per

form

ance

Aw

ard,

or

Bes

sie,

in 1

987,

and

an

Alp

ert

Aw

ard

in th

e A

rts

in 2

002.

She

coed

its C

onta

ct

Qua

rter

ly,

a jo

urna

l fo

cuse

d on

dan

ce a

nd i

mpr

ovis

atio

n fo

unde

d in

1975

, an

d di

rect

s V

ideo

da,

a pr

ojec

t th

at a

rchi

ves,

pro

duce

s, a

nd d

istr

ibut

es v

ideo

tape

s

of i

mpr

ovis

atio

nal

danc

e. I

n 20

01,

the

Fre

nch-

lang

uage

mag

azin

e N

ouve

lles

de D

anse

publ

ishe

d an

issu

e ab

out

her

wor

k, t

itled

V

u du

Cor

ps:

Lisa

Nel

son

, M

ouve

men

t et

Per

cept

ion.

S

he l

ives

in V

erm

ont.