Thanks to iPods and MP3 players, it is becoming increasingly commonplace for people to be right next to one another physically and yet be completely isolated and uninvolved, each engulfed in his or her own world of sound. What does this mean for dance, which has traditionally been an interactive medium? It means that more and more troupes have been experimenting with having silent dance competitions where the aim is to see how long people can dance in silence with their own music provided via headphones. YAWP, “Young Asians With Power,” is attempting to break that record, which is curiously only a meager thirty minutes thus far. YAWP members will be dancing with their own devices, but audience participation is strongly encouraged (especially those who bring old-school Walkmans and Discmans) and some devices will be available on a first come, first serve basis. (Or, you can just watch to see how long the silent dancing will commence before drifting into chaos.) (Dennis Polkow)
Lightness and Longevity: A Preview of "ON GO ING" at Links Hall “I want people to not be sitting there thinking ‘I could have stayed home and read this book or watched this movie.’ I just want people to have a good time. It always been sort of tongue in cheek and absurdist in its way. It’s just who I am.”
