Dead Tech
Breakbone Dance

Critic's Choice - Chicago Reader

"Dismemberment figures prominently in Atalee Judy's new evening-length dance-theater work, Deadtech...Deadtech gives the viewer plenty to think about" - Laura Molzahn, Chicago Reader 8/28/04


8/23/04 - 9/5/04


"Dismemberment figures prominently in Atalee Judy's new evening-length dance-theater work, Deadtech. But it's a doll or robot that gets dismantled, its arms, face, and/or gear stripped away until one wonders what's beneath it all, if anything. In fact that seems Judy's motive in this piece: to uncover what's human in the high-tech--and low-tech--wonders that humans create. (Or, by extension, what's human about humans.)

The “mechanoid” main character, Deadtech, has survived apocalyptic destruction and can rediscover human life only by watching old movies, among them An American in Paris and Mary Poppoins. It’s a great premise for a dreamlike collage of disparate scenes; lots of video projections and a score of mostly assultive music, a lot of it by Nine Ince Nails, establish a universe that sours and yet not ours. Here a woman can emerge from the mud like an enraged newborn from the womb, covered in slime and filth instead of amniotic fluid and blood. Iindeed, the iinfantile.

Deadtech (Judy’s description) seems to be searching for a woman in his video adventures though the alternatives he turns up are not appealing. In one section, images of prancing Lipizzan stallions are juxtaposed wit ha live performer strutting in a short skirt and eight inch platforms. Not exactly sublte at times Deadtech’s social criticism has a sledgehammer bluntness. But Judy can be deliciously indirect, allowing more delicate currents to surface: this section hints at the similarity between harnessing horses and bondage and connects both pastimes with modeling and ballet, occupations that require starvation and torturous footgear. The associative string of words defined on screen are also evocative and delight retro. With 21 performers (including Margi Cole and her troupe, the Dance COLEctive) in some 15 sections, Deadtech gives the viewer plenty to think about" - Laura Molzahn, Chicago Reader 8/28/04

Director
Atalee Judy

Performers
Berianne Bramman, Mary Chorba Willmeng, Jesse Coffelt, Kristen Cox, Suzanne Dado, Rachel Damon, Tabitha Faes, Jyl Ferhenkamp, Elisa Foshay, Nicole Garneau, Atalee Judy, Nadine Iollino, Mindy Meyers, Kay Wendt Lasota, Jim Rosenblum, Sprite, Margi Cole, Sabrina Cavins, Molly Grimm, Donnette Kuba, Rachel Nicoli,

Production
Cameron Zetty, Kevin Rechner, Carl Wiedemann, Branimira Ivanova, Klaar Martin, Cybele Moon

Tags: Dance, American, 2004