Habitus – a sociological system aimed at understanding why individuals perceive the world as they do, and how this, in turn, informs their behaviors and participation within society.
Over the course of 2018, Sumi Clements and Taryn Vander Hoop travelled intermittently by Camper Van around the country researching ideas of how geography shapes ideology, in conjunction with the social theories of habitus and performativity. This concept was loosely inspired by, and developed in tandem with, the election cycle. We believed there could not be a better time to launch this project, and observe the country as it grapples with recent changes.
Our research investigated not only what divides us, but also what unites us. We collected our findings through outreach, observation, photography, video, and interviews.
The culmination of Project Highway HabitUS will be an evening-length work performed in Brooklyn at The Invisible Dog in May 2020, along with video documentation, a blog, and a book on the project.
Part love letter, part underbelly, the work will come together like a patchwork quilt.
About Summation Dance
Summation Dance Company, founded by Sumi Clements and Taryn Vander Hoop, is a New York City based modern dance company creating exciting, innovative, and highly physical work. Empowering each other on all decisions, Clements and Vander Hoop have distinct roles, but an equal partnership that is complimentary in aesthetic and vision. The mission of Summation is to find the beauty in struggle and the humor in the mundane. We value dance that moves the flesh; it bubbles from underneath, knots in the back, and rips away the layers leaving us raw and exposed. We offer up this work to affect, inspire and enliven.
In 2010, Clements and Vander Hoop graduated with their MFAs in Dance Performance and Choreography from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Since the spring of 2010, Summation Dance has self-produced annual seasons at Brooklyn Academy of Music and Baryshnikov Arts Center, as well as produced three Dancing Literate Project performances, their annual dance education outreach festival at Judson Memorial Church. Through the Dancing Literate Project, Summation has commissioned Suzanne Beahrs (Suzanne Beahrs Dance), Sidra Bell Dance (Sidra Bell Dance New York), Claudia Anata Hubiak (The Anata Project), Peter Kyle (Peter Kyle Dance), and Kendra Portier (BandPortier) to perform, as well as Andrea Miller (Gallim Dance), Sydney Skybetter (skybetter & associates), and Taryn Vander Hoop (Summation Dance) to set repertory pieces on Summation’s dancers.
The company has also performed in numerous festivals and venues in NYC such as: City Center, DUMBO Dance Festival, FAB Festival, FlicFest at the Irondale Center, Fridays at Noon Series at the 92nd St Y, RAW at Dance New Amsterdam, La MaMa Moves Festival, REVERB Festival at Baruch Performing Arts Center, Skirball Center, St. Mark’s Church, and the World Dance Alliance Conference. Summation has received numerous commissions and residencies from venues and colleges across the country.
Website: www.summationdance.org
Instagram: @summationdance
Facebook: @summationdance
Twitter: @SummationDance
Dates
Thursday, May 28
Friday, May 29
Saturday, May 30
Time
TBD
Admission
TBD
Location
51 Bergen St.