Leading up to Philadelphia Dance Projects Presents 2010, we’ll be
featuring a fresh interview with a series choreographer or dancer, offering an
inside peek into the creative development of the artist’s work. This week, we
talk with Terry Fox, curator of the series and Executive Director of
Philadelphia Dance Projects.
How did you come upon the connecting
thread of intergenerational works for Philadelphia Dance Projects Presents 2010? Terry Fox: As often happens in the
curating world there’s a serendipitous zeitgeist going on. I just thought
looking at my generation of Philly dancers and performance artists might be fun
and of interest to a younger generation of artists who weren’t around (or even
born) then. At the same time Lisa Kraus said she was collaborating with some of
her former Trisha Brown Co. colleagues and creating new work with a young group
of artists here. SCUBA also showcases rising artists from Philadelphia and
other peer cities, so viola! The theme of re⋅gen⋅er⋅a⋅tion came to be. 
You were a part of the contemporary dance scene in Philadelphia in the 1970s
and 80s, and you are a part of that world now. Has the climate for contemporary
dance changed in the city? Terry Fox: The climate for dance has changed. There is more funding available for
individual artists. Artists and audiences seem to have a wider acceptance of
many different types of dance styles. These things were not true circa 1980. Experimental
dance styles were not followed by traditional dance audiences but rather by
visual art, avant music, theater and performance art goers and practitioners. A
ballet dancer would hardly be seen using a contact improv or a slack bodied
move as you might see today, there’s a more healthy mix up now.
What remains for the artist is the economic and political difficulty of
maintaining ongoing exploration, creating work and presenting it. This is a
reality for both individuals and for those trying to hold companies together. There
still is no dance only presenter supporting local artists. Dance audience
attendance is variable and unpredictable. We intend for PDP Presents to begin
to address some of this again this season and over time.
In addition to curating the series, you
are participating as a choreographer in the Local Dance History Project, and
working with rising Philadelphia dancers to reconstruct an original piece from
the 80s. How is your own work being influenced by this future generation of
contemporary dancers? Terry Fox: Well, as a “reconstruction” it has improvised sections that will call on Alie
Vidich, the present dance artist, to conjure her own skills, vocabulary and
concerns to the solo. I hope the work I have selected isn’t too sentimental or
melodramatic for this generation’s general disaffection with life and cynicism about
materialism. We shall see.
Look out for more interviews with series artists. Have your own Q&A questions?
Email info
philadanceprojects [dot] org
to submit.