Alpine Slip

Choreographed by Emily Kessler in collaboration with performers Sienna Blaw, Rachel Gill, and Chelsea Enjer Hecht

Music composed by Jacob Sachs-Mishalanie

Prop design by Emily Greco and Kelly Cheatle

Costumes by Celina Carney

Alpine Slip peels through the horizon, leaving the city and charging towards the mountains. The landscape that lies ahead is a steady ebb and flow. Rolling hills of movement zip by the window, fragmented by the speed they leave a few trace images in focus. Cycling through motifs based on memories of home, the dancers construct their own fragmented foundations. Building to collapse, building to transform. They build to slide through the passage. An exploration of familiarity and proximity, Alpine Slip is a dance built on nostalgia for home and the spaces that we leave behind.

The creation of this piece was supported in part, by residencies at Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, Mount Tremper Arts, Utica Dance, and Chapman Steamer Arts. The creation of this work was also supported by our Patrons from Patreon. Thank you Tayana, Nicholas, Suzy, Jeremy, and Zoe for your support.

Thank yous

Thank you to Connor Speetjens, Hannah Straney, and Kathryn Taylor for contributing movement to this piece in different stages of the process. There are so many threads of you visible in this piece and it makes it all the more vibrant. Thank you Si, Rachel, and Chels for everything. I’m endlessly inspired by the three of you. You make my life brighter than you could ever know from our time together in the studio. Thank you Jake, your work brought this piece to life in so many ways, and I cherish getting to collaborate with you. Thank you Em for dreaming with me and thank you Kelly for making dreams reality. Thank you to Carlye, David, and Merce for hosting us at Chapman, and making the impossible possible.

And a very special thanks to PAGEANT — for giving this work a home and your tireless support. I’m so grateful for you.

xx E

Biographies

Emily Kessler (she/her) is an American-Croatian dance-based artist raised in the United States and Switzerland. Her choreographic work has been performed in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and internationally in Singapore and Vietnam. Collaboration being at the helm of her process, Emily created POGO in early 2020 to deepen her artistic endeavors with others. Through POGO she has released her first film, choreographed and movement-directed music videos, and created several site-specific works. In response to the pandemic, she created the series POGO in the Park, an outdoor showcase for New York City-based dance artists which has spanned two seasons. Emily has been an artist in residence at Chapman Steamer Arts, Sky Hill Farm Studio, Utica Dance, Mount Tremper Arts, Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, Peaceable Barn, and the Neuberger Museum of Art. Additionally, Emily is a specialized GYROTONIC® Practitioner based in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, earning a BFA in Performance and Composition with a minor in Art History.

Sienna Blaw (they/them) is a queer dance artist born and raised in Austin, TX. While completing their BFA in Dance at SUNY Purchase, Sienna had the great pleasure of dancing works by Merce Cunningham, Hannah Garner’s 2nd Best Dance Company, Doug Varone, and Trisha Brown, among others. Since graduating from SUNY Purchase in 2017 Sienna has performed with Pam Tanowitz Dance in their “New Work For Goldberg Variations”, and in the repertory of Merce Cunningham, Doug Varone, and Hannah Garner’s 2nd Best Dance Company. They have performed Contact Improvisation scores at MoMa, and at Park Avenue Armory. Sienna is a co-founder of A-Y/dancers, a collaborator with BIRDHOUSE under the direction of Raven White, and a collaborator with POGO Dance Projects under the direction of Emily Kessler.

Rachel Gill (she/her) is a New York City-based dance artist. Currently, she is performing with Maya Lee-Parritz, Amanda Krische (AMMA), & POGO. She has previously danced with I-Ling Liu, GREYZONE, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, and Ambika Raina. Rachel has performed in venues such as The Public Theater, BAM Fisher, and The Shed. She is a 2016 graduate of SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance and received a BFA in Dance Performance, summa cum laude. Additionally, she studied at Amsterdam School of the Arts in the Modern Dance Theater Department and Springboard Danse Montreal (2016). Rachel has always had a love for film and began exploring the relationship between movement and film in 2020.

Chelsea Enjer Hecht (she/her) is a Mongolian-American Brooklyn based dance artist and licensed massage therapist from Minnesota. She graduated from SUNY Purchase with a degree in dance performance and minor in arts management, then Pacific College of Health and Sciences' school of massage therapy. She has had the honor of creating, collaborating and performing dance for film, installation, fashion and the stage with artists including A-Y Dancers, Adam Barruch, Catherine Tharin, GREYZONE, Shannon Gillen Lipinski, MeenMoves, Troy Ogilvie, POGO Dance, Amber Sloan, Nathan Trice, Megan Williams, and Ellis Wood. She has created and presented work collaboratively at NewSteps by Chen Dance Center, Soaking WET by West End Theatre, POGO in the Park, Made by Women Festival by Dual Rivet, and guest taught for Midday Movement and Peridance Center.

Originally from Utica, NY, Jacob Sachs-Mishalanie (he/him) is a Brooklyn-based electronic composer. His work focuses on a playful approach to generative composition with MaxMSP and uncanny relationships between acoustic and electronic sounds. He is pursuing a PhD at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches Music Technology at Hunter College and Brooklyn College.

Emily Greco (she/her) is an architectural designer and construction coordinator living and working in New York. She received an M.F.A. in Interior Design from Pratt Institute in 2021. She also received a B.F.A. in Sculpture, and a B.A. in Art History in 2012 from SUNY Purchase College. Emily has designed for various theatrical productions and music videos, including works reviewed by Pitchfork and The New York Times. In 2018 Emily was a fellow of the Art & Law Program at Cornell School of Art, Architecture and Planning. In 2016 she represented her alma mater at the White House Civic Initiative Kickoff in Washington D.C., and at Technos College in Tokyo, Japan as an international student ambassador. She was an artist in residence of Takt A.I.R. in Berlin, Germany in the same year. When she is not designing for set Emily enjoys her work in construction management and architectural design between New York and California. Special thanks to Emily and Kelly, to my parents Iris and Bobby, and to Ade for the endless support and love.

CM Carney (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based artist and designer whose work spans clothing, sculpture, and performance. Currently, her practice is focused on creating one-of-one, ready-to-wear garments under the label Social Call, as well as producing costume designs for movement-based artists and musicians, and art direction / set design for music videos. Her studio is open for commissions and collaborations, and you can find her work on IG.