A brief history of RIPENING
In this Prologue for "RIPENING : Dawn of the Wylding", (an eco-feminist dance experience by Vanessa Walters), the ensemble cast is introduced as a collection of isolated, emotionally combustible urban women, who upon reaching an internal breaking point, make the decision to give in to the primal energies ready to explode out of their bodies.
Featuring performers Alexandra Berger, Alicia Dellimore, Gwendolyn Gussman, Joey Kipp, Lucy Struever-York, Michelle Yard, and Vanessa Walters.
Video (Cinematography and Editing) by TAXIPLASM; Choreography & concept by Vanessa Walters; Music by Ryan Soper; Libretto by Vanessa Walters and performers; Libretto recording/vocals by Madison Krekel; Libretto arrangement by Omar Zubair.
SHE-YETI ON THE TOWN
Unscripted metamorphosis
THIS VIDEO IS EDITED FROM A PERFORMANCE INSTALLATION, UNSCRIPTED METAMORPHOSIS, IN TIMES SQUARE IN OCTOBER OF 2022. IT WAS A WORKSHOP PERFORMANCE TO FURTHER DEVELOP THE CHARACTERS OF THE UPCOMING IMMERSIVE PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE, DAWN OF THE WYLDING, TO PREMIERE IN LATE 2023. IT FEATURES SHE-YETI AND THREE OF THE SEVEN WYLD WOMYN. UNSCRIPTED METAMORPHOSIS WAS COMMISSIONED BY CHASHAMA.
THE GATE
The Gate finds us at the center of a collection of scattered figures, each suddenly caught by a magnetism above and below their bodies as the ground rumbles, pushing and pulling them into chaos until an ethereal voice lures them.
"Come to the Edge" the voice cries, and a trio of ghostly Guardians unlock a celestial gateway, beckoning us all to cross.
THE GARDEN
An old woman’s recurring dream begins to eclipse her world as she approaches her inevitable expiration. As fantasy and reality start to invert, her vanity is eradicated and a portal opens for a newfound self-perception to blossom.
Shot on location in Australia, The Garden features the 109yr old Georgina Jeffries (grandmother of choreographer Vanessa Walters), continuing to push the boundaries of how we understand time, aging, and the psychological paradoxes that shape our self-perception. This cinematic thought experiment serves as a prologue to our upcoming feature.
RIPENING/YIELD
Yield is the first complete short film in the Ripening canon. Combining dance, cinema, and a wicked sense of humor, Yield is a psychological journey of the inevitable wonder and cruelty time wreaks.
World Premiere at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, part of “the originals: digital dance” program, New York City, 2016
THE HOUSE
The House is the first piece in the Ripening canon of dance films and interactive media. It is the exquisite journey from maiden to mother to crone. As one navigates through the empty rooms of a mysterious house, a secret world opens, where the mind’s eye of a child parallels that of the older woman emerging beside her. Every nook and cranny conjures a delicate breath and sometimes violent gesture of a woman’s haunting memories, from deliciousness to decay.
Ripening : The House was an official selection for Lincoln Center’s Dance On Camera Festival 2013 ; Cucalorus Film Festival 2012, The Standard Hotel Downtown LA, 24-7 video installation Summer 2013.
A TEASER VIDEO FOR THE 2015 PERFORMANCE, SHE-YETI’S DREAM or Ripening: We Have the Grid So We Can Find the Circles . . . MASKS MADE BY DENA PAIGE FISCHER