This month, our Center Spotlight feature is Bryn Mawr College's return to a groundbreaking work by choreographer John Jasperse: Fort Blossom, performed only once before in 2000 at New York City performance space The Kitchen. In Fort Blossom Revisited (2000/2012), to be performed from February 24–26 by Bryn Mawr's Performing Arts Series, Jasperse and his dance company will take on the challenge of contemporizing it for new audiences, pushing the limits of the previous staging.
In a recent essay about this project and how it plays into the larger scope of Jasperse’s work, Suzanne Carbonneau writes, “Fort Blossom had a limited run in 2000, but its reputation was enormous: word went out that Jasperse had created a bold exploration of our creaturely natures, willing to show what hadn’t been seen before on a dance stage. How to achieve the same effect after more than a decade of cultural evolution?” This is the primary challenge for Jasperse, whose work is known for delving into unknown and uncomfortable subject matter, while constantly pushing the boundaries of tradition.
Tomorrow, February 18, Bryn Mawr will host a symposium, “The Contemporary Performance of Sex, Gender, and Embodiment,” which will feature Jasperse and visiting dance scholars, as they discuss issues at the forefront of the choreography in Fort Blossom. Visit our Center Spotlight page to read more about this funded project, and then check out the Bryn Mawr website, for more about the symposium and other ancillary events, plus tickets to the upcoming performances.
