What is What

ABOVE: Watch New Short Dance Film

Directed by Leo Pfeifer and Commissioned by Nowness and in collaboration with Jacobs Pillow

ABOVE: "How Its Going: Crutches" Text and Line Art by Bill Shannon

What was the first crutch? It was not the first recorded crutch. It was not the first staff. The first crutch was before it all. It was a branch. A branch grabbed on impulse to survive a moment, to get through a threatening situation. The first crutch was a life and death situation. The first crutch was born of a moment when a human, under threat from a predator, impulsively invented a tool to assist their own mobility. Crutches at their essence are rooted in survival. Crutches are a sign that the person using the crutches is likely the weakest in the pack. Crutches, in short, equal death. That survival response to seeing crutches is still with us today, at the very core of our innate survival instinct. Mortality symbolized in an object that one uses to move their body. The first crutch, before it was a crutch, was a random branch from a tree that had fallen to the ground. It was laying in a specific place, sufficiently thick but not too thick, the correct length, not too long or too short. Just the right length to work for the human that happened to pick it up.(cont.)

Tickets Here

Isolating in this Pandemic but recalling walking into Club Shelter in the late 90's like

Another Cipher Session Fall 2019

The Creative Impulse SATURDAY MARCH 23RD 2019, 1:30 PM  805 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh PA

Touch Update Wearable Video Masks 2018 w/ Projectile Object Hardware Coding. Video Mapping Performers Ron Chunn and Jacquea Mae

June 23rd, 2018 " Solo Street Performance " FLOW Governors Island, NYC August 10th and 11th, 2018 "Maker Moves" PS 21Chatham, Chatham, NY October 19th and 20th 2018 "Touch Update"

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I keep moving on to new iterations of the wearable mask while in development of a new interdisciplinary dance theater piece, "TouchUpdate." This video is edited in such a way to share with viewers exactly how my work in dance performance, choreography, street performance, video compositing, video installation and video wearables all are interconnected.

MANCC (pronounced man-see) is the only national center for choreography in the world located in a major research institution, and operates from one of the premiere dance facilities in the United States. The Center is embedded within The Florida State University School of Dance, and offers unparalleled opportunities for contemporary choreographers to hone their artistic practice and develop new work inside a creative community.

"Touch Update" a new work exploring contemporary modes of digital vs. interpersonal representation and physicality to Premiere at Kelly Strayhorn Theater Pittsburgh May 11,12 2018 photo: Chris Cameron 2017 This project support by New England Foundation of The Arts National Dance Production Fund and Heinz Endowments Small Arts Initiative and The National Performance Network

ABOVE: Performance at Trolley Dances San Diego 2016. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg.) Quick Overview for 2017 extends past the jump. I was awarded a New England Foundation of The Arts, National Dance Project Production Grant 2016 to produce a new work to Premiere in 2018. 2017 I have a MANCC Residency in April. In May 2017 I have tentatively scheduled a residency hosted by Philip Channels of Dance Integrated Australia with support from Critical Path.

Upcoming Fall 2016 Events

Sept. 2nd, 2016 9pm Brooklyn, New York  The New York Clown Theater Festival

Sept. 10th, 2016 12 - 7 pm Philadelphia, PA Raphstravaganza: The Kinetic Experience

Sept. 24th and 25th, Oct. 1st and 2nd San Diego, California Trolley Dances

MakerMoves daily video journal for 2016 featuring freestyle performances. All videos captured on mobile, 1min or less in length, footage recorded within the last 24hours, a minimum of edits, no filters. Check the Stream of Videos HERE

ABOVE: Bill Shannon's Wearable Video Mapped Mask Photo. Garrett Jones MadMapper: Neil Henke

In depth interviews with videos and making of images linked below

ProjectionMapping.org http://projection-mapping.org/wearable-projection-mapping-mask/

Vice: The Creators Project

http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/the-wearable-projection-mapped-m...

Guardian UK http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/10/the-man-in-the-digital...

A long exposure of a short dance on bioluminous sand this summer.

too lazy to attempt to learn enough drupal to keep this site functional.. it was cool while it lasted.. also never let your vimeo pro relapse. the custom privacy allowances available in pro cause all sorts of problems with existing embeds when it reverts as is obvious here.. also in my experience youtube just better at streaming whereas vimeo looks better but often streams choppy.

These two projects featuring my dance work on crutches held much in common. They were both dance for camera projects involving dancing and skating through an urban environment while staying in range and in frame for a steady-cam operator who followed each movement to the best of their ability. Both projects involved collaborating with director Joey Garfield and since their completion both have received overwhelmingly positive reactions by their respective audiences.

above: see hd here updated 2015 https://youtu.be/3m5kC_t5IGo Music Video: Artist: RJD2  Track "Work It Out"  Direction Joey Garfield, Choreography and Performance Bill Shannon 2007

above: Ad Campaign: Visa "Flow" Europe, Direction Joey Garfield, Choreography and Performance Bill Shannon 2009