The Conditions

In collaboration with musician-composers Patrick Conan and Vicky Mettler, choreographer Lucy M. May is currently building a container for new improvisational research. The Conditions (working title) is envisioned as an installation for gallery space. Third in a series of pieces investigating the ecologies of place, it will follow Vivarium (2014/17), created in alleyways and rail yards, and Anima / Darkroom (2019), a Krump solo for black box theatres. Recalling the emotional content of dancing alone at the Reversing Falls in New Brunswick (The Lips of the River, 2017) and drawn to the intimacy of gazing in the gallery, Lucy M. May is investigating processes that entrain gesture and emotion. The Conditions seeks to track and induce fleeting sensations (butterflies, shivers) through voice and movement. Non-equal-tempered musical tuning, as well as new and archaïc methods of sense-perception (micro-phenomenology, the Occult) inform the work. Joining the project are freestylers from both Contemporary and street dance styles. A visual environment for The Conditions is being created by cut-paper artist Maisie O’Brien and lighting designer Jon Cleveland.