MANCC Welcomes Megan Mayer
McKnight Foundation Partnership – February 12 – 25, 2012
The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) welcomes Megan Mayer into residence. Mayer is a choreographer, performing artist and photographer based in Minneapolis. Most recently she was honored with a 2010 McKnight Foundation Fellowship in Choreography.
During her residency Mayer will begin researching the topic of space and space travel, the concept of orbit, the role and responsibility of astronauts, and the potential emotional displacement or euphoria experienced by those who have traveled in space as a means of informing her next work “Soft Fences” (working title).
“Orbit, as I understand it, refers to the trajectory of an object around a moon, planet, or star. However, I read another description of it as the exquisite balance between gravity and momentum. That definition intrigues me, because it made me think of people in a transitional state where one is neither arriving nor leaving.” – Megan Mayer, 2010 McKnight Fellow in Choreography
As part of the residency Mayer will work with Video Artist Kevin Obsatz to create video footage that will be incorporated into the performance via projection, and with Sound Designer Elliott Durko Lynch to create an original soundscore. Additional research will take place at the Kennedy Space Center, the Tallahassee Challenger Learning Center, Wakulla Springs, and through an interview with esteemed Astronaut Dr. Norman E. Thagard. The residency will conclude with a public Informal Showing of the material developed while in residence.
Megan Mayer’s Public Informal Showing
FSU School of Dance Montgomery Hall
Black Box Studio
February 23, 2012
5:30 pm
Seating is limited. To make a reservation, please visit Megan Mayer’s MANCC webpage.
Please see http://mancc.org/artists/megan-mayer/ or email info@mancc.org for additional information about Mayer’s residency.
About MANCC
The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC), at the FSU School of Dance, is a choreographic research and development center whose mission is to raise the value of the creative process in dance.
Banner: Performers Kristin Van Loon, Greg Waletski, Charles Campbell, Theresa Madaus, Megan Mayer in “I Could Not Stand Close Enough To You” (2009). Photo by Sean Smuda.