Alexandra Bachzetsis: From A to B via C

Sun Jan 11—Wed 14 2015

As part of the tenth edition of the COIL festival, Swiss Institute and Performance Space 122 present Swiss choreographer Alexandra Bachzetsis with the U.S. premiere of From A to B via C. Bachzetsis has been exploring the various provinces and domains of 'mainstream' popular culture – hip-hop, fashion, strip-tease, movies – and extracted the signature vignettes and ensemble pieces from it that have come to define her choreographic, performative practice.

Inspired by Diego Velázquez’s seminal rendition of Venus at her Mirror (1599-1600), From A to B via C opens with three bodies moving from and towards each other, acting as each other’s mirror image - mediated and unsynchronized. Complex scenes of nudity, gazing and instructional scores reflect on our common desire to communicate our own identity through the identities of others.

From A to B via C has unfolded in different versions and iterations this Fall - premiering in a proscenium theater at Kaserne Basel (Switzerland), online through Tate Museum’s BMW Tate Live video platform (England) and now through this gallery exhibition and installation with Swiss Institute and PS122. Between the different platforms on which the performance is presented, common spaces emerge.

From A to B via C is choreographed by Alexandra Bachzetsis and features performances by Bachzetsis, Anne Pajunen and Gabriel Schenker. The creative team also includes Hendrik Folkerts (research curator), Cosima Gadient (costume design), and Tobias Koch & Dan Solbach (sound design).

Performance Space 122 (PS122) provides incomparable experiences for audiences by presenting and commissioning artists whose work challenges boundaries of live performance. PS122 is dedicated to supporting the creative risks taken by artists from diverse genres, cultures and perspectives. We are an innovative local, national and international leader in contemporary performance. Beginning in 2011, PS122 embarked on one of the most unusual and potentially radical shifts in its history, including a re-structuring of artist support, a business model overhaul, and the renovation of our building. As PS122’s East Village home undergoes a much-needed interior renovation supported primarily by the City of New York, DCA and DDC, PS122’s core activity continues to be providing audiences with contemporary live performance. For over 3 decades, Performance Space 122 has been a hub for contemporary performance and an active member of the cultural community. Under the curatorial vision of Vallejo Gantner (Artistic Director 2005 – present) PS122 has developed a set of programs designed to re-establish the value of live performance, provide singular experiences for audiences that inspire critical thinking, and sustain the creative process for artists throughout their career. Largely in partnership with peer organizations, PS122 currently presents artists in all disciplines in spaces all over the city during an annual fall & spring season and COIL festival in January. In addition to the commissioning and presenting of artists from NYC across the US, and around the globe, PS122 has increased our activity off the stage to provide audiences with a variety of access points and context for the work on stage. These activities include both talkbacks with the artists as well as in depth conversations that bring together luminaries from non-arts disciplines to discuss a variety of topics including everything from religion, to migration, to queer real estate and cultural diplomacy. PS122 encourages the asking of questions and debate of contemporary society’s issues in both artistic practice and audience experience.

From A to B via C will take place January 11–14 (see schedule above) at Swiss Institute. The event is free and open to the public during the above hours. For more information visit ps122.org or call 212.352.3101.

Performance: January 11 at 5pm and January 14 at 7pm
Media Installation: January 12 & 13 from 12-6pm

FREE with reservation at ps122.org or 212-352-3101

For more information please contact Clément Delépine clement@swissinstitute.net, 212 925 2035

Alexandra Bachzetsis (b. 1974, Zurich) is a choreographer and visual artist based in Basel and Zurich. Her interdisciplinary practice spans performance, dance, and visual art, exploring the codification of gesture in both popular culture and the performing arts. Drawing from sources such as TV, romantic comedies, music videos, and contemporary dance, her work interrogates representations of the body—particularly female identity and commodified femininity—through choreography, performance, and critical engagement. Bachzetsis studied at the Zürcher Kunstgymnasium, Dimitrischule in Verscio, STUK arts center (Leuven), and Das Arts (Amsterdam). Early in her career, she collaborated with companies such as Sasha Waltz & Guests (Berlin) and Les Ballets C. de la B. (Gent). Since 2001, she has produced and presented her own work internationally at both theatre and contemporary art venues. Her notable projects include Perfect (2001), Show Dance (2004), Mainstream (2007), Dream Season (2008), Bluff (2009), Rehearsal (Ongoing) (2010), and The Stages of Staging (2013), presented at institutions such as Stedelijk Museum, Fondation Beyeler, and Serralves. She has participated in dOCUMENTA (13), the 5th Berlin Biennale, and held a major solo exhibition at Kunsthalle Basel (2008). Bachzetsis has received numerous awards, including the Swiss Art Award (2011), Swiss Performance Prize (2012), and the Migros Kulturprozent Jubilee Award (2007). She was also nominated for the DESTE Prize in Athens in 2011.

Commissioned and developed in collaboration with Tate Modern, London, Biennale of Moving Images, Geneva and Fundatión Jumex Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City. Co-produced with Kaserne Basel and Theaterhaus Gessnerallee, Zürich. Swiss Institute programming is made possible with public funds from Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council. Swiss Institute gratefully acknowledges Kurimanzutto for their support.