Walking In Two


photo by Luther Eilliot


“... messes with the showbiz roots of America’s “cowboys and Indians” myth and delves into Pearson and Ahmadi’s own roots as Native performers.” – Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody

Project Description:

Walking In Two (2010), by Tom Pearson, is a tale spun from the cultural bloodlines of “performing” Indians, from the time of the Wild West shows to the present. The artists re-construct/de-construct a Wild West show, à la Buffalo Bill, and explode the notion of cowboys and Indians as we think we know it. Subverting audience expectations and the Euro-centric desire to see “traditional” Native dances onstage, the artists trap passive viewers into witnessing an undressing of the images of Frontier America that our society has constructed and perpetuated for more than a century.

The work is performed on a traditional stage, but to an empty house, with audience members tucked into the wings, and watching onstage and from the back of the stage, facing out.

Video Trailer:

Photo Slideshow:


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Press Coverage:
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_______Infinite Body______Wet Paint

“Sidestepping tired constructions, they made thought provoking statements and raised compelling questions about what it means to be Indian on stage.” – WET PAINT | Ira's Peripheral Vision

“razzmatazz entertainments like a chorus-line dance to ‘Love is a Battlefield’ giving way to a record- ing of chanting voices and heavy drumbeats, and a gorgeous, whirling fancy-shawl dance... set against a larger, troubled backdrop of Americana.”
– Claudia La Rocco,The New York Times

“People tend to think traditional when it comes to American Indian art. In ‘Heritage Series: Contemporary First Nation,’ Dance New Amsterdam shakes up this assumption, presenting new work by two choreographers who very much belong to the 21st Century.”
– Claudia La Rocco, The New York Times

Credits:
Walking in Two was originally commissioned and presented by Dance New Amsterdam as part of DNA’s Heritage Series Contemporary First Nation, made possible with support from American Express. Additional support for the work came from Materials for the Arts/New York City Department of Cultural Affairs/Department of Sanitation, and Third Rail Projects with support from The Lucky Star Foundation and individual and institutional donors.___ ___

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