Dancer, Suzanne Beahrs, visual artist, Molly Stinchfield, and musician/sound engineer, Angela Don, will converge their art forms for a two-night performance run in downtown Berkeley at the Subterranean Arthouse, May 7-8, 8pm. ($10/5, brownpapertickets.com)
The show, entitled "Between Curious and Biting," is a split bill. The first half begins with "Rock Dances," danced by Beahrs, Julie Potter, and Kristin Damrow. Four brief dances follow, featuring dancers Gretchen Garnett, Rebecca Johnson, Leah Katz, Paul Laurey.
Part II, "Dear Unica," is a collaboration between Beahrs, Stinchfield, and Don, and a tribute to late surrealist artist, Unica Zurn. It incorporates text from Stinchfield's personal letters to Unica, as well as live projected illustration. Stinchfield, a current graduate student at Cal Arts, is highly influenced by Unica's immaculately detailed, serpentine, otherworldly illustrations.
In "Dear Unica," Beahrs dances as Stinchfield's live drawings are projected onto a screen behind her. The unfolding graphics serve as constantly evolving backdrop, lighting and set design. Thus the two performers engage in a virtual pas de deux, informing and reacting to each other's artistic mode. Beahrs describes the duet as "an opportunity to act the roles of two characters: Unica and Molly... thereby exploring human connectedness."
This is the first collaboration between Beahrs and Stinchfield, who have been friends since they were three years old. Their partnership is a natural one, though. Stinchfield is interested in using the body as a canvas and also as an extension of the artist, and Beahrs is fond of the collaborative process.
The performance also marks the end of Beahrs' two-month residency at the Subterranean Arthouse, an experience she speaks highly of. Indeed, the entire process of collaborating while having the space to work has been invaluable in her growth as a dancer and artist.
In addition to the Subterranean, Beahrs' work has been presented at the Garage, the Berkeley Earth Day Festival, and the University of California at Berkeley. She currently performs for Christine Cali, Ishika Seth, Dance Ceres, Brianna Taylor, Strong Current, and in her own work.
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