Artist Biography 2: Virginia Kennard

 

Virginia Kennard,

Performance Artist, Dancer & Choreographer:

Virginia Kennard is a practicing freelance physical artist based in Wellington, New Zealand. She has undertaken several choreographic residencies in Glasgow, Scotland through the Centre for Contemporary Art, the Work Room and Dance House. Her travels through Europe lead her through workshops with Keith Hennessy (Canada, USA), Katie Duck (the Netherlands, USA) and the DELTEBRE DANSA Festival in Spain. Since returning to New Zealand, she has performed for the Wellington Freelance Dance Collective and created work for S.A.M.P.L.E.

More recently, Virginia has been developing “The Lady Garden”, a performance installation & live exhibition exploring the nude female body as an asexual object.

Earlier this year (in the 2013 Wellington Fringe Festival) The Lady Garden was a huge hit with both the public (including Shirley Manson of international band 'Garbage') and the press, including a story & interview on TV3's Nightline. This showcased not only Virginia's excellent skills & growing confidence as an events creator, organiser & performer; but also her natural savvy & talent as a publicist and media wrangler.

Virginia's Unique Contribution

to the 'Whakapapa' exhibition:

Introducing...

 

"Chocolate Soup." *

 

* Also featuring soundscapes by Emi Pogoni.

 

(see bottom of page for Virginia's official

performance dates & times during 'Whakapapa'...)

 

 

Chocolate Soup is your daily dose
of soy-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, real-time dance composition.

This is a performance improvisation featuring soundscapes by Emi Pogoni

and seemingly arbitrary movement decisions by Virginia Kennard. Various other ingredients, moonlighting as musicians (we are looking for a pianist for the library piano!!), visual artists and writers, are thrown into the mix each day to encourage

and reveal dance discoveries & performance antics.

 

Virginia is a performance artist and dancer. Her work focuses on the body, combining different elements of performance into a cohesive yet fleeting moment – one of entertainment, dance and experience. Improvisation satisfies her need for intense research, which supports her complete lack of prepared choreography.

Emi is a creator of sound-based music, and discourses on the nature of intended sound. She is interested in multi-faceted audio so that music can come in at its own angle. Her focus for dance composition is soundscape-ish yet still immersive, fascinating and evocative of an environment in its own right and allowing the visual action to lead the way.

 

The lack of soy, sugar and dairy in this work reflects Virginia’s current dietary choices necessary to avoid physical discomfort, chronic fatigue and general grumpiness. The omission of chocolate from her life made her “pretty crazy” but ignited the blend of nuts, fruit and cocoa into amazing mash-ups of Chocolate Soup goodness. This is much to the chagrin of her personal trainer.

Dance improvisation is a bit like Chocolate Soup – finding the right

combinations of ingredients to function and delight.
 

“Dancers exist in 3D space and deal with the actuality of the architecture they are in, & the implications of the events and pathways they [are] creating in real time.” – Kristian Larsen, throwdisposablechoreography.blogspot.co.nz

“Our impulses/instincts are our route to originality, our rational brain perhaps too logical for inspiring sparks to fly from it. How often have we just heard 'I don't know why I chose to do that, it just felt right', when we see something masterful and unexpected unfold before our eyes.” – Tom Pritchard, www.onthestageofthepresent.com

“I’ll be alone/dancing you know it baby.”

– Don’t You (Forget About Me), Simple Minds.

 

Chocolate Soup: Official Performance Times

in the City Library Gallery... ALL welcome.

 

Thu 4 July, 7.10pm. (Whakapapa Official Opening Nite)

 

Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri (8/9/10/11/12) July, from 1 - 1.30pm.

 

Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri (15/16/17/18/19) July, from 12.30 - 1pm.

 

 

Keep an eye on Virginia's Twitter account

for up to the minute (well, hour, er day?) developments...

I am sure that once she touches down in Melbourne,

she'll be tweeting her little "chocolate soup" heart out!!

 

Follow her now!!

 

@viggiq