ABOUT THIS EPISODE
On September 29 at 99 Canal, writer and editor David Velasco and performer and producer Nile Harris, joined Jeanette Bisschops for a conversation on 'Sarah Michelson,' the 2017 book edited by Velasco and published by MoMA as part of their Modern Dance series.
They were joined by a crowd of performance devotees and, in a surprise appearance, Sarah herself. In the recorded discussion, the group talks about the contested process of making the book, the value of dance writing, and how they came to be obsessed with Sarah's work in the first place.
~ ~ ~
Nile Harris
Nile Harris is a performer and director of live works of art. He is currently working on commissions with Performance Space New York and the Chocolate Factory Theater and serves as an Artistic Leader at Ping Chong and Company. His recent work includes ‘this house is not a home’ (2023) an improvised play about American nationalism starring performers Crackhead Barney & Malcolm-X Betts which premiered at Abrons Arts Center and later restaged a part of the Under the Radar Festival.
Sarah Michelson
Born in Manchester, England, and based in New York, since the 1990s Michelson has created performances that examine the nature of dance as a discipline through its historical, physical, and intellectual rigor. Her recent work has incorporated painting, video projection, sound, and installation.
David Velasco
David Velasco was editor in chief of Artforum from 2017 to 2023 and before that worked as an editor at the website for twelve years. In 2016 he was the creator of and series editor for “Modern Dance,” published by the Museum of Modern Art, which has produced three books: Sarah Michelson (ed. David Velasco), Ralph Lemon (ed. Thomas [T.] Jean Lax), and Boris Charmatz (ed. Ana Janevski). In October 2023 he was dismissed from the magazine after publishing an open letter from cultural workers calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. He lives in New York where he is at work on a book.
~ ~ ~
