Honor Your Partner

Community Building Square Dance for Artists and Others, Oakland, pOrtland, Jyderup 2008-2011

An interactive performance that invites artists and others in need of networking and problem solving to identify their strengths and weaknesses and share them with both friends and strangers through a led dance. On the walls in rope read the fine sentiment Honor Your Partner. All were encouraged to bring business cards. Cards were provided for those without. There were a number of adjectives printed on stickers to wear, or the participants could make up their own. I used traditional square dance calls as well as my own: "Share a resource with your partner," "Exchange cards," "Discuss how you can take on more of your partners adjectives," etc. Future iterations included collaborations with musicians in Denmark and Portland, calling out conversation prompts addressing politics and current events. Performance, rope, printed matter, mixed media.