In this RTV episode Sally Silvers discusses her show “Actual Size” the camera choreography of Alfred Hitchcock, and the poetic quality of her work.
Sally Silvers’s award-winning choreography comes out to play to subterfuge the films and motifs of Alfred Hitchcock. In Actual Size, she’s funscaping,, teasing romance with fear, and jumpcutting many of his classic looks & obsessions. With a knock-out ‘N by NW’ duet with star former Merce Cunningham dancers, Melissa Toogood and Dylan Crossman (“intricate & surprise-filled”—Robert Greskovic; “an aura of danger and romance”—Deborah Jowitt), the juicy, beguiling cast also spotlights Alicia Ohs, Carolyn Hall and Luke Miller. Plus surprises — guests, mysterious encounters, secrets revealed — framed by Ursula Scherrer’s wonderfully skewed video projections, along with atmospherics by text/sound designer Bruce Andrews, performing live with electronic composer Michael Schumacher. Lighting by Joe Levasseur & costumes by Elisabeth Hope Clancy.
Performance date: 11/04-11/07/2014
Episode release date: 05/11/2015
Sally Silvers is a Guggenheim Foundation and “Bessie” award-winning choreographer who has been making work since the 1980’s. As the Artistic Director of Sally Silvers & Dancers, she has toured nationally and internationally in USA, Mexico, Europe, and the far East. She has been called “downtown queen of intelligent quirk” (New Yorker) & her last work, Bonobo Milkshake, was chosen by The New York Times as one of the top 3 pieces to see in New York for 2012. She choreographed 3 musicals for the Sundance Theater Festival and co-directed 2 award-winning dance films: Little Lieutenant and Mechanics of the Brain. Her work has also received support from the NEA, New York Foundation for the Arts, Meet the Composer/Choreographer for projects with Bruce Andrews and John Zorn, and The Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts. From 2005 to 2011 she danced in the new and historical works of Yvonne Rainer. Her work has been archived and recorded by the New York City Performing Arts Library. She is also known for several large dance community curatorial projects: TalkTalkWalkWalk (combining dance artists and poets) at The Bowery Poetry Project and Surprise Every Time (a festival of “live choreography’ – making work live in front of the audience on the spot) at Roulette.