Culture
‘Snake Talk’ Artists Head to Ohio University
< < Back to snake-talk-artists-head-to-ohio-universityThe OHIO Dance Division and the School of Art + Design are pleased to sponsor Maryanna Lachman (HTC Dance ’09), Mara Poliak and Abby Crain for their performance Snake Talk, which will premiere at Ohio University on Feb. 25.
The visiting artists/choreographers will present a series of events including lectures, movement workshops and a full performance of their project Snake Talk, during the week of Feb. 20-25. All events are free and open to the public.
“Our students are very interested in work that blurs the boundaries between disciplines and that uses performance to address issues around gender and identity,” said Jennie Klein, associate professor of art history, School of Art + Design. “They are also eager to see what can be done after graduating with a degree in fine arts, dance or theater. Snake Talk, along with the series of workshops and lectures scheduled for the week will give our students the opportunity to see experimental performance work/dance from the west coast.”
The Dance Division and the School of Art and Design in collaboration with the Honors Tutorial College, The Ohio University Art Gallery, The Ohio University LGBT Center and Factory Street Studio have organized the visiting performance events.
Snake Talk at the Ridges Rotunda, Feb. 25
Snake Talk is created and performed by Abby Crain, Maryanna Lachman and Mara Poliak, with lighting design by Elizabeth Ardent and sound design by Samuel Hertz. In Snake Talk, the female subject remains slippery and undefinable within an aesthetic terrain of discomfort, excess, and distortion. The performance is scheduled for Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. in the Ridges Rotunda located in The Ridges complex. The event is recommended for 16+ audiences, due to partial nudity and disturbing content. It is free and open to the public.
Movement Workshop at Factory Street Studio Feb. 24
Snake Talk authors Abby Crain, Maryanna Lachman and Mara Madrona will lead a workshop for dancers and non-dancers combining the unpredictable and profound structures of Open Source Forms, a rebellious outgrowth of Skinner Releasing, with the delicate and wild practices of Authentic Movement. The workshop aims to cultivate a dynamic temporary ecology for a non-linear non-logical experience of the moving body as a creative and shifting ground for body based work. Hosted at Factory Street Studio in Athens, the workshop is planned for Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Maryanna Lachman (B.F.A., HTC 2009) is a dance maker and curator based in Oakland, CA. She has been in ongoing collaboration with Mara Poliak and Abby Crain since 2013 and has been a visiting artist/teacher at Whitman College, Beloit College, Green Street Studios (Boston) and Dance New Amsterdam (NYC) and the FRESH Festival. She received her B.F.A. in performance and choreography from Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College.
Abby Crain is an Oakland based artist who makes dances, teaches, writes, curates and performs. Her work has been presented in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, NYC and Berlin. She worked with Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People from 2001-2009 and has danced in various capacities with Sara Shelton Mann since 1999.
Mara Poliak is a dancer, curator, artist and writer based in Oakland. She is currently working with Margit Galanter in her Cave Forms project and has been a collaborative performer in works by Bay Area choreographers including Tessa Wills, Macklin Kowal, Jess Curtis and Jesse Hewit.
For more information about Snake Talk, visit: this link.
Public Event Details:
Monday, Feb. 20: 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Performance class, J. Klein, Seigfred 540
Snake Talk Lecture followed by a short workshop in the Ohio University Art Gallery
Tuesday Feb. 21: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Movement event and lunch
OHIO LGBT Center, 354 Baker University Center
Friday, Feb. 24: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Skinner Workshop at Factory Street Studio, 35 Ohio Ave.
Saturday, Feb. 25: 8 p.m.
Snake Talk Performance, Ridges Rotunda, the Ridges
The piece is roughly 60mins, 16+ for partial nudity and disturbing content.