Carrie Ahern Dance’s “Sex Status 2.0” series takes place in private homes (photo by Julie Lemberger)
Who: Carrie Ahern Dance
What: Latest work in “Sex Status” series
Where: Private homes in Manhattan and Brooklyn
When: May 12-14, 18-21, sliding scale $25-$100, 8:00
Why: For more than two years, we watched dance online from the comfort of our our homes or wherever we were sheltering in place during the pandemic lockdown. Now, with venues back open, you can watch Carrie Ahern Dance’s (CAD) latest presentation in its ongoing “Sex Status” series from the comfort of someone else’s home. Since 2018, CAD’s “Sex Status 2.0” has reinterpreted Simone de Beauvoir’s 1949 The Second Sex through performances that ask such questions as “What is authentic femininity?,” “Where does our power lie?,” and “What are our deepest desires?,” taking place in private homes.
“Sex Status” continues with Carnal Spill, an investigation into the language women use and receive during sex. The work features text by Ahern, who previously explored modern death (2011-16), and Vanessa DeWolf, with storytelling, word games, and original music by Anne Hege. Jay Ryan will design the sets and lighting specifically for each of the two homes, one on West Forty-Third St. in Manhattan (May 12-14), the other in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn (May 18-21). Carnal Spill — which asks, “How does our relationship to words evoke erotic connection or disconnection; turn-on or shame?” and “What is it about our fantasy life that can expand our reality?” — will be performed by Jennifer Chin, Donna Costello, Carolyn Hall, Elke Rindfleisch, and Bennalldra Williams; tickets are available on a sliding scale from $25 to $100.