Site Work: John Bailey, Brook Andrews, Maida Withers

1977 (? October 12)  Time Dance: Found Audience – Found Space is an adaptation of dancers performing select segments of choreography from the stage work, Time Dance, on the steep steps leading down to the Potomac River behind the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC. This location was used for performance by National Symphony Orchestra on a float in the river during the summer years ago. Three dancers perform at rush hour to attract an audience in cars driving by the site.  Cars stop, creating a back up, as drivers, briefly, watch the performance.

Dancers perform movements and structures from the stage work outdoors in the urban environment with natural light and a shift in scale.  The site has impact on the movements and, in this case, the intense blue sky of nature contributes color and immensity thru the the sky as a backdrop.  Original costumes by John Bailey feature tie-dyed layers in shades of sky blue, pink, or water green.  At this site, there is a change of scale for the human body.

Dancers enjoy the “found” audience driving home from work and stuck in traffic – suddenly enjoying the surprise of our presence on cement stairs with the blue sky as a backdrop.

Brook Andrews, Maida Withers, John Bailey

MWDCCo presents unannounced dance events in various locations in the Washington, DC.  For example, on a very hot Sunday afternoon, dancers performed in several public fountains interacting with children and adults  who were also enjoying the coolness of the water on a hot summer day. Site work is an important aspect of post-modern dance.Brook Andrews, Maida Withers, John Bailey

Site specific works by Maida Withers Dance Construction Company include Sunday Maneuvers at the Theodore Roosevelt Island National Park, White Mansions, in the Holy Rood Cemetery, Families Are Forever, Renwick Gallery, others.