Photograph of [re]current dance

[RE]CURRENT UNREST

By Charles O Anderson

(Re)current Unrest is an evening-length immersive performance installation 鈥榬itual鈥� built on the sonic foundation of Steve Reich鈥檚 three earliest works: It鈥檚 Gonna Rain (parts 1 and 2), Come Out and Pendulum. This work, created over a two-year development period, utilizes movement, media and powerful imagery to meditate on the 鈥淎merican Dream鈥� and Black nihilism, borne of the current racially charged moment.  An investigation of legacy, authorship and the history of Black art and protest through the lens of the erasure of the Africanist presence in Reich鈥檚 compositions, (Re)current Unrest explores the kinesthetic state of unrest -  the condition of unease, discontent and social disturbance. This physical state of agitation represents 鈥渟taying woke.鈥� To stay woke refers to an intangible level of awareness about community issues and social justice. Pivoting in response to Covid-19 from the live immersive performance engagement, Anderson developed a reimagined digital iteration of (Re)current Unrest featuring live and pre-recorded video footage. 

[Re]Current Unrest film screening

(Re)Current Unrest 鈥� Social Justice Dance/Theatre Film Screening and artist talk in collaboration with the 黑洞社区 Office of Diversity and Inclusion

  • Date: Monday, March 21st
  • Time: 12:00-1:30 p.m. 鈥� RSC Santa Fe Room

[Re]Current Unrest

Artist-in-Residence Workshop - March 21-25, 2022

Through a short and intensive workshop, Charles Anderson will create an in-person performance 'happening' with the Wichita State School of Performing Arts community to serve as a localized response to systemic racism and intersectional discrimination and oppression. Anderson is looking for students (and interested faculty/staff) who have physical theatre, movement, and/or dance backgrounds and who are also generous of spirit and interested in investing themselves physically and intellectually in social justice work. 
 
The workshop will be primarily focused on physical expression and will require a willingness to engage in the embodied process even if to generate mock designs (from a place of experience and not solely detached observation). In addition to physical theatre, design students can participate and/or observer and collaborate on creating an imaginary or realized environment for the showing. 

Participants in this free workshop will develop material that explores the kinesthetic states of agitation, unease, discontent, and social disturbance that inform (Re)current Unrest. ALL SPA students are encouraged to participate.