If you see something... is a devastating work. There are parts that are relentless and difficult to watch. As the audience enters the theater, (here a thrust stage with audience on three sides) the stage is virtually absent - completely wrapped in white paper. You are only met with a video of people’s eyes staring at you. The dancers slowly destroy the paper barrier, at times delicately and at others violently. I  see it more as a work of visual art that evolves before the viewers’ eyes. Most things that people would consider dance were eliminated from the piece, they just didn’t fit. The aesthetic is specific - jarring, jolting, twitchy.

 

The beginning thoughts for this work were about how slogans and propaganda affect individual lives and ultimately a culture. The title, somewhat obviously, refers to the slogan "If you see something, say something" as seen in NYC subways, airports, etc.

 

A few years ago while riding the subway, a woman who was in the same car as me noticed a miscellaneous duffle bag lying on a seat with no apparent owner. There was some brief discussion with those around about if it belonged to anyone. She then alerted a train operator and the train was

stopped. Several people got upset at her as it disrupted the service of the train. Her response was “They tell you if you see something, say something”. Though there were also many people who got off the train and didn’t get back on even after bag was removed. This dichotomy of reactions, aggression and fear, began my thought process about the

repercussions of such messages. Responses in these situations can be immediate or mediated, but are often not thoroughly thought out. I began to wonder about instinct in these situations and the effect that such sayings and ideas, with obvious significant associations, have on peoples instincts and actions.

 

The studio investigations began with setting up situations that produced instinctual responses – dodging objects, falling, etc - in an attempt to capture the energy and quality of immediate physical responses to stimuli – potential danger, self-protection – that was often sudden, quick and

unformed. In the work, there are structured improvisational sections to the work as well as set choreography.