Wendy Perron is a dancer and author whose writing captures the vibrancy and depth of the dance world, offering a unique perspective on the artistry and history of movement. This December, you’ll have multiple opportunities to view performances by Perron or to hear her speak on dance.
• December 1, Sundays on Broadway. Perron will perform the 8-minute solo that she performed in August at TicTac in Brussels, a dance-and-art center she wrote about in The Dance Enthusiast.
• December 2, Dance Magazine Awards. If you are attending, Perron will be speaking.
• December 7, Perron is moderating a post-screening talk on Obsessed with Light, the new film about Loïe Fuller, at the Quad.
• December 8, Perron will be dancing in Yoshiko Chuma’s ONLY EXTREME CLASSICS FOR 1’03” with Kathryn Ray, Sarah Skaggs, Emily Marie Pope, Coco Karol, Melissa Flower Gladney, Deniz E. Sancak, Yang Sun, and Rosa Wolff, at Sundays on Broadway.
• December 16:, Perron will be on a panel about the early days of Danspace’s 50-year history, at the Library for the Performing Arts. They will show delicious footage of Steve Paxton & Nancy Stark Smith, Ralph Lemon, David Zambrano, Ishmael Houston-Jones & Fred Holland, Channel Z, my piece Tin Quiz (1983), and more. This event is hybrid, so you can tune in from afar.
• The catalog of the current Getty exhibit “Sensing the Future” includes a focus on the legendary “9 Evenings of Theater and Technology” (1966). It includes Perron’s essay on works by Yvonne Rainer, Lucinda Childs, Deborah Hay, and Steve Paxton. The catalog available here.
• Be sure to follow Wendy Perron on social media. She’ll be posting her annual “Notable New Dance Books” at wendyperron.com in December. A not-to-be missed round-up of the year’s best.
Looking ahead: Perron will be curating an exhibit celebrating Norton Owen’s 50 years at Jacob’s Pillow, to open at the Pillow in June 2025.
Wesleyan University Press is proud to have published two of Perron’s books.
Through the Eyes of a Dancer: Selected Writings
In this collection, Perron explores a diverse array of dance styles and genres, from avant-garde downtown performances to grand ballets at the Metropolitan Opera House. Through opinion pieces, interviews, reviews, personal essays, blog posts, and reflections on the choreographic process, she offers readers an intimate and thought-provoking perspective on dance as an art form. Whether you’re a dancer, choreographer, teacher, college dance student, or simply someone intrigued by the intersection of dance and journalism, Perron’s insightful and engaging writings are sure to inspire.
The Grand Union: Accidental Anarchists of Downtown Dance, 1970–1976
The Grand Union was a groundbreaking improvisational dance collective in SoHo during the 1970s, known for its leaderless structure and experimental approach to performance. The group featured some of the most influential figures in postmodern dance, including Yvonne Rainer, Trisha Brown, Steve Paxton, Barbara Dilley, David Gordon, and Douglas Dunn. Together, they explored a wide spectrum of improvised movement, from quiet, meditative explorations to wildly inventive collective fantasies. This book dives into the “collective genius” of the Grand Union, examining their process of deep play and creative collaboration. Drawing from hours of archival video footage, Wendy Perron examines the ebb and flow of their performances, offering insights into the group’s innovative methods. The book also features 65 photographs that capture the spirit of their work.