TAKIng up space

THOUGHTS FROM THE PRESS

Lisa Bardarson, thINKing DANCE, “I was captivated by the entrance of the five dancers... Clad in simple jumpsuits they burst onto the stage like red Ninjas.”

Jonathan Stein, thINKingDANCE, “Stark may have as a youngster been instructed to confine herself to a genteel, respectful kinesphere but this work definitely exploded that legacy.”

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TAKING UP SPACE

Five women command the space, pouring on and off the stage in a never ending stream of movement.  Their encounters with space destabilize gender norms and prompt audience members to question how we move our bodies through the world.

On stage, the effort is always visible as a back lit scrim highlights the dancers racing through backstage to re-enter the performance. Outside at 30th Street Station, a new layer of the work emerges as the continuous motion of commuting merges with human connection and interaction.  

The work emerged from a personal excavation into my, Katherine Kiefer Stark, personal experiences as a girl/woman (margin identity) and the ways I was taught to occupy space - confining my body to a small space, being gentle with other people, being conscious of others’ perceptions - and a desire to experience and present a contrasting (mainstream) experience.  

Reflecting on this work several years later, I also recognize the ways I am mainstream as a cis-genered white person.  It’s amazing to flip that switch on myself and this dance and to really consider what it means that I also embody the mainstream and why it often doesn’t feel that way.  

In addition, my girl/woman experience is not universal. I am a white, heterosexual, cis-woman, raised predominately in Protestant culture, all of which directly informs how I was taught to occupy space.  Taking Up Space was performed 5 times between 2008 and 2016: each time, the cast exclusively consisted of white, cis-women, with experience in heterosexual relationships, and easily related to the gender norms I was exploring.  It was an awesome experience to explode out of our boundaries. 

LIFE OF THE WORK

2016 Pieces of the structure on a sidewalk in West Philly as part of Meet The Naked Stark performed by Amy Lynne Barr, Leanne Grieger, Katherine Kiefer Stark, Megan Wilson, & Meredith Stapleton, 

2014 Expanded for Programming at The Porch performed by Becca Webber, Katherine Kiefer Stark, Kelly Turner, Leanne Grieger, & Megan Wilson

2013 FringeArts Festival Philly performed by Amy Lynne Barr, Colleen Hooper,  Kelly Turner, Leanne Grieger, & Megan Wilson

2010 Goose Route Dance Festival performed by Amy Love Beasley, Erin Casanega, Katherine Kiefer Stark, Margaret Moncure, & Megan Wilson 

2008 UNCG performed by Alegria Rodriguez, Barbara Tait, Erin Casanega, Maria Maggi, & Tamera Hatley