New York City ex-pats, Layard Thompson and Scott Heron are crafting a duet for presentation in the spring and fall of 2012. Working periods included recent and upcoming residencies in their respective homes, rural Tennessee and New Orleans, as well as online Skype improvisations during respective travels between Santa Fe and Brussels. Venues for evening-length production TBA. Upcoming presentation of an excerpt will occur as part of Movement Research at Judson Memorial Church's 20th Anniversary and closing season performance on June 18th in New York City.

VIDEO: Watch The Installation

Evening-length solo work staged in the dark, minimal lighting, with vocal work and six flashlights. Costume and make-up, respectively in collaboration with costume mavericks Machine Dazzle and Gonoway Ta Round. Premiered as part of inaugural FLICfest (Feature Length Independent Choreography) at the historic Irondale Theater in Fort Green, Brooklyn. Currently undergoing development for performances as part of APAP at CPR (Center for Performance Research) as presented by Chez Bushwick and Wanda Gala; make-up executed by Darrell Thorne. Future developments will include elaboration as a group work - venue and dates for premiere of group work are TBA.

GALLERY | PRESS: New York Times, Brooklyn Rail

Re-performed four of Marina Abramovic’s seminal works in groundbreaking retrospective. Specialized works include Imponderabilia (1977), Relation in Time (1977), Point of Contact (1980), and Nude with Skeleton (1998).

GALLERY | PRESS: New York Times

AMERICAN REALNESS, a Festival of Contemporary Performance as part of APAP and produced by Ben Pryor’s tbspMGMT. 30-minute a-mal-gaga-mate-ion of performance material derived from and extending upon Movement Research Festival’s “Verb-alll…” and Dance Theater Workshop's “Cup…” involving costumes and sets made from recycled paper and plastic coffee cups, and plastic grocery shopping bags.

GALLERY | PRESS: Brooklyn Rail | Links: PBS Sunday Arts Blog

Closing performance in Movement Research Festival at Danspace Project @ Saint Mark’s Church. Hosted by Ishmael Houston-Jones; curated by Charles Atlas and Lucy Sexton. 15-minute evolution of performance material derived from DTW’s “Cup…” involving eight volunteer performers, an installation rain of plastic shopping bags, and a Victoria Secret bag.

GALLERY | VIDEOS: Excerpt | PRESS: New York Times

Tennessee representative of nationwide performance/protest/ritual intended as a contemplative act of solidarity with those displaced by the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Conceived by choreographer Miguel Gutierrez and performed by 31 representatives from 31 states. Continuous movement improvisation performed while blindfolded and ear-plugged that was simulcast and blogged.

GALLERY | PRESS: New York Times

50-minute interdisciplinary performance premiered as part of shared evening at Dance Theater Workshop (Dec 3-6th, New York) and commissioned through the Bessie Schoenberg – First Light Artistic Residency. Created in collaboration with costume wizard Machine Dazzle and Bessie Award winning lighting designer Chloe Z Brown. The work employs audio-miked costumes made of clear-plastic recycling bags and recycled paper and plastic coffee cups.

GALLERY | VIDEOS: Promo, 6 Minute Excerpt, 10 Minute Excerpt | PRESS: New York Times, The Village Voice, Gay City News, Infinite Body Blog,

Adaptation of Hay’s The Runner premiered at Joyce Soho as part of New Dance Alliance’s Performance Mix Festival (March 2008). Additional performance in Hudson, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and Liberty, TN.

GALLERY | PRESS: New York Times, Brooklyn Rail, Infinity Body Blog

In January, 2008 alongside two additional performers of News, Thompson performed at the Whitney Museum of American Art through the curation of Brooklyn-based Chez Bushwick. Also performed in Northampton, MA, Lindsay, OK and Liberty, TN.

Adaptation of Hay’s The Runner premiered at Joyce Soho as part of New Dance Alliance’s Performance Mix Festival (March 2008). Additional performance in Hudson, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and Liberty, TN.

GALLERY | PRESS: New York Times, Brooklyn Rail

Hay’s solo adaptation that inspired her group work, “O,O”. Thompson premiered his adaptation of Room in May of 2006 at Dance New Amsterdam’s new 140 seat theater in a concert series bringing together five artists performing their adaptations of Hay’s work. He subsequently performed Room in Scotland, Paris, Los Angeles, again in New York and finally in Tennessee.

GALLERY | PRESS: NY Press, Infinite Body Blog

Hay’s solo adaptation of her Bessie Award winning, The Match. Thompson performed his adaptation of The Ridge on nearly 20 occasions at venues throughout New York City and Europe; notable performances occurred in Paris at nogoodwindow gallerie, and in New York at the Cathedral Saint John the Divine, Danspace Project, Dixon Place, Galleria Illy, Galapagos, and The John Houseman Theater, among others. In 2006, his duet adaptation of The Ridge with Hay veteran Hana van der Kolk was performed in Southern California at two Universities and at Highways Performance Space.  

GALLERY | PRESS: New York Times, Dance Insider Paris

Founding member of gender fuck clown and high-heeled boy glitterettes — The Pixie Harlots.  Performances include the notorious cabaret Weimar New York, chanteuse Justin Bond’s Luster and cabaret stages throughout New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.  In December, 2009 performed opposite MadameBond as a transsexual Huck Finn in Bond’s “Christmas Spells” show at Abrons Arts Center.

GALLERY

Performer in One (2006) and duet performer in Bessie Award winning Anna, Ikea and I (2008).  Both performances occurred at Danspace Project at Saint Mark’s Church.

Actor, dancer, and singer in over-the-top glam musical that showed at PS 122 for two weeks of performances.

Principal male performer in Return (2001—2002) and Feast (2002—2003), both evening length, site-specific works employing original installation, costume, sound, and choreographic design.  In Feast, worked with Dutch choreographer Beppie Blankert.

Evening-length duet, choreographed, produced and performed in collaboration with Erik Kaiel of The Netherlands, The work blends architecturally responsive improvisation, contemporary dance performance and an installation of old books, scrabble tiles, industrial adhesive tape, and discarded clothing to create successively smaller performance arenas.  Created site-specifically at the old Environmental Protection Agency office complex.  The premiere of this 75 minute work occurred in 2002 during Art-O-Matic, Washington D.C.’s month-long arts festival. In the spring of 2003 the work was performed 14 times in 10 cities along the west coast of the U.S. and Canada with an additional performance in Montreal.