“piano piano”
Nancy Karp + Dancers
Paul Dresher Sound Studio, Oakland, CA
Video of world premiere February 27, 2020
Filmed by Rapt Productions, Oakland
by Rita Felciano
copyright Rita Felciano 2020
Ever since she started making work in the mid 1970s in San Francisco, Nancy Karp has concen-trated her choreo- graphy on dance’s most basic elements—sound and movement. Remarkably, in a Bay Area environment that favors dance theater, social and personal identity issues, she has remained focused on those two ingredients. Rarely has she stepped outside her parameters of choice. The 1995 “Kristallnacht", a haunting contemplation of that insane event, is very much the exception in her oeuvre. It certainly helps that Karp has an acute and sensitive understanding of what these days is often referred to as classical contemporary music. In her latest work, “piano piano” seen in a video version, she follows her by now well-known way of working. The piece derives its name from the Italian expression “take it easy.”
Performers: Sonsherée Giles and Chris Black (in the foreground) in 'piano piano' (on stairs: Amy Lewis, Nol Simonse, and Katie Kruger). Photo: John Hefti.