Known as both a dynamic solo performer and eclectic choreographer, Molissa Fenley spent her teens in Nigeria and Spain, experiences which deeply affected her dance sensibilities. After dance studies at Mills College (where she now teaches for part of each year), she moved to New York City and founded her company there in 1980. Her early works shared a distinctive look and feel, and The New York Times colorfully described her “high-speed cannonball dancing.” Jacob’s Pillow has commissioned several of her works, including Cenotaph (in collaboration with Eric Bogosian), and the solos Bardo and Pola’a. Her State of Darkness has been performed at the Pillow by the Pacific Northwest Ballet as well as by Fenley herself. The solo excerpted here is the middle section of a 30-minute trilogy under the umbrella title of Regions.
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