Performance in Yellow Taped Box

Highway Dancer

Title:  My Way or the Highway



Resources:  Roll of 2" wide yellow tape.

Intention:  To express the impact of societal limitation on the dancer in a confined space of a taped square

Preparation:  Create a three foot square on the floor with the tape.

Instructions:  One dancer performs movement inside a 2 1/2 to 3 foot square-shaped box (yellow tape) on the floor / sidewalk  / other space for 10 to 15 minutes that reflects the comfort or conflict with limitation as defined by the performer.

Conclusion:  10 to 15 minute time period.

Outcome:  I loved this project.  It was so much fun doing it.  Because of the holiday season going on right now in Israel, many places that would normally allow me to perform in their space would not, forcing me to plan B - dancing in the middle of Israel’s busiest highway.  I’d like to say I got special permission to close it off, however, in actuality, on Yom Kippur, no one drives in Israel, so I was able to perform there without any traffic.  I decided not to make a sign of my performance, because I did not want people to be preoccupied with what they would think I would want them to take away from this performance.  I was photographed, filmed, and even joined by members of my found audience.  It was truly a unique experience - performing on Israel’s largest flat surface yet only being able to use a single square meter of it.  It made me think about the protests going on here about the price of living - how people are paying obscene amounts for tiny spaces in which to live.  I was really glad we had this assignment and look forward to others like it.