10/13-10/15 @ 8:30PM
Currently in the U.S., there have been 82 anti-transgender bill introduced in the state legislative session, the highest number of anti-transgender bills in U.S. history. Most attacks focus on transgender youth, and 31 states have introduced bills that ban transgender athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identities. The world premiere of Cassils’ first piece of contemporary dance, Human Measure (2021), is presented against this backdrop. It builds upon Cassils’ knowledge of kinesiology, martial arts, and sports science to reinterpret the Anthropometries paintings of painter Yves Klein who, in addition to being an artist, was a judo master. Klein published The Foundations of Judo (1954), a book illustrated with hundreds of photographs of himself performing the movements that form the basis of judo.
Cassils references this work to demonstrate movements grounded in oppression and resilience, culminating as the dancers’ bodies impress a stain upon a giant cyanotype—to be exposed the color of “International Yves Klein Blue.” A collaboration with choreographer Jasmine Albuquerque—who has worked with the likes of St. Vincent, Devendra Banhart, Laura Marling, and Mike Mills—the performance will draw upon personal safety and vulnerability, problematizing visibility in a moment of heightened violence against the GNC/Trans community.
Tickets