Tim Bendernagel and Doug LeCours will perform in John Jasperse’s Visitation at NYU Skriball (photo by Maria Baranova)
VISITATION
NYU Skirball
566 LaGuardia Pl.
September 9-10, $35, 7:30
nyuskirball.org
johnjasperse.org
In a May 2012 twi-ny talk, dance artist John Jasperse said, “I would like to see justice in general in the world. I’d like to think that the work that I make is participating in this greater collective effort. Since money is our primary mutually agreed system of valuation, I would like to see more ethics reflected in how money gets spent in the domain of culture.” For more than thirty years, the Manhattan-based Jasperse, who was born in Rockville, Maryland, and graduated from Sarah Lawrence, where he has been the director of dance since 2016, has been choreographing works that challenge the audience while taking on social issues and exploring personal intimacies. In works such as Misuse Liable to Prosecution, Canyon, Fort Blossom, Truth, Revised Histories, Wishful Thinking, and Flat Out Lies, and Becky, Jodi and John, he walks the fine line between fantasy and reality while delving into the human body and the psyche.
For its first evening-length piece in four years, John Jasperse Projects is making its NYU Skirball debut with the world premiere of Visitation, incorporating spiritualism, the occult, ghosts, and camp. Visitation was created in collaboration with performers Tim Bendernagel, Cynthia Koppe, and Doug LeCours, featuring an original score by Hahn Rowe along with fragments from Richard Wagner. The lighting is by Stan Pressner. Visitation was initially developed over Zoom before in-person rehearsals were deemed safe. In a late 2021 email to supporters, Jasperse explained, “I can’t recall a creative process that has gone through so many twists and turns.” Performances take place September 9 and 10 at 7:30; tickets are $35.