In the summer of 2023, I returned to my hometown to work with pre-professional dancers at Sarasota Contemporary Dance's summer intensive. At the time, I was studying Homer's "The Odyssey" where Odysseus encounters sirens on his way home to Ithaca. The ancient mythos of the sirens as a group of undifferentiated feminine figures, whose seemingly only purpose is to seduce then kill men, flooded me with rich imagery and summoned up other stories as old as stories like my favorite ballet Giselle. Together, with 10 hours of rehearsal, we created a 10-minute piece. SIREN was choreographed uniquely for those 6 dancers, their experiences with bad acting, casting themselves into new roles, and becoming a differentiated self and this process' tension with togetherness. I was invited back to set a version of this work on SCD's professional company. You can view both versions below.
Choreography by Kristen Bernier
Sarasota Contemporary Dance Company: Jessica Obiedzinski, Jordan Leonard, Juliana Cristina Miller, Makayla Lane, Sammantha Miller
Sarasota Contemporary Dance Intensive: Sami Mangione, Abby Broschak, Barbara Monteiro, Zoe Griffin, Sarah Affainie, Sydney Mays
Photos by Sorcha Augustine
Videos by Integrative Media Productions
Music:
Akram Khan’s “Giselle” (After A. Adam): Love Duet I - Vincenzo Lamagna
Strong Heartbeat for Sleeping Babies - Womb Ambience
Cesca's View - Rinde Eckert, Roomful of Teeth, Brad Wells