Endless Matter 2004 by Michael Helland

Endless Matter
By Michael Helland
Performance by Alison Clancy, Michael Helland, Sera-Kim Huenergard, and Daniel Linehan

Meany Studio Theater University of Washington Dance Majors Concert, May 4-6, 2004 (Seattle)
American Dance Festival Student Concert, July 16, 2004 (Durham)
Dance Theater Workshop Fresh Tracks, April 23-25, 2005 (New York)

Endless Matter starts from an immediate fascination with the realities of human embodiment. How awesome is it that our consciousness exists within this highly organized and at times chaotic collection of molecules and chemical reactions, and that through this human container we experience the world? Yet the matter from which we are composed is nearly identical to the rest of the universe, all made from the same endless stardust, with the illusion of solidity and specialization amplified by our perceptual facilities. This quartet explores the connection between the end of one body and the beginning of the next, exploring ways to extend the self and to animate the inanimate. The performers navigate real and imagined conceptions of otherness to harness their metaphysical powers and transcend a sense of existential angst and alienation.

Original 2004 creation with Marisha Doan, Lauren Ehnebuske, Sera-Kim Huenergard, and Shannon Narasimhan

TRT: 15-minutes

Awarded for Best Choreography by the University of Washington Dance Program (2004)

“…choreographer Michael Helland’s Endless Matter confronted the politics of embodied gender with fewer punchlines – and significantly more courage – than most of Larry Keigwin’s lightweight main stage offerings earlier in the season. The choreographer’s spare work interrogated the radically divergent meanings the same balletic moves and costumes are given when placed on male and female bodies. In contrast to most of the offerings, the chalky overhead fluorescent lighting actually aided this exploration of socially constructed difference, when its shadows emphasized the gauntness of Helland’s half-nude form.” Burning issues, embodied protests by Byron Woods, Independent Weekly 2004

“…attempts at sweet romanticism were shattered by outbursts of distraught choreography.” Battling the Self and Others in Showcase of Struggles by Jack Anderson, NY Times 2005