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Remembering a Dance

with Yvonne Rainer and Emily Coates

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

April 20, 2023

 

In 1965, choreographer and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer premiered Parts of Some Sextets at the Wadsworth Atheneum with a cast of ten performers and twelve mattresses. The work marked a pivotal aesthetic shift in the artist’s approach to movement and helped usher in a radical shift in contemporary dance. Nearly six decades after its presentation at the Wadsworth and a subsequent presentation at Judson Dance Theater, the work’s impact continues to be felt through a recent revival and continued scholarship. To celebrate the publication of Remembering a Dance: Parts of Some Sextets, 1965/2019 (Performa / Lenz Press / Wadsworth Atheneum, 2023), Rainer returned to the Wadsworth in conversation with dancer, choreographer, and longtime collaborator Emily Coates. The artists reflected on Rainer’s pioneering career, discussed the process of reconstructing Parts of Some Sextets for the Performa 19 Biennial in New York, and considered the landscape of contemporary dance. A book signing followed the conversation. 

  

Presented in partnership with Performa and sponsored by the Auerbach Library Associates at the Wadsworth Atheneum. Additional support provided by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation Fund at the Wadsworth Atheneum. 

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Program images, Remembering a Dance, 2023. Images courtesy of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

View the printed program from Remembering a Dance

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Remembering a Dance:

Parts of Some Sextets, 1965/2019

Performa / Lenz Press / Wadsworth Atheneum, 2023

Paperback, 6.75 x 9.5 in. / 160 pgs / 38 color / 76 bw.

ISBN 9791280579119
List Price: USD $30.00 CAD $42.00 GBP £26.00

Order a copy here

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