“RED had the atmosphere of an absurdist late-night talk show and the intrigue of a lurid fan fiction written by a hopelessly romantic high schooler. Familiar scenes warped and waxed larger-than-life; known narratives took hairpin turns into strange territory. Heroes and villains impersonated each other and walked into the sunset holding hands. Who’s to say if they lived happily ever after. ”
RED
This evening-length work walks the fuzzy, shag-carpet line between dance performance and narrative play, leaning into both text and movement to tell an abstracted version of a well known fictional story of survival: Little Red Riding Hood. By cycling through distinct characters, either true to the original story or entirely new, 2nd Best Dance Company will explore how we confront the many-faced “big bads” that lurk on our personal wooded paths. In RED (choreographed, written, and directed by Hannah Garner), four performers brave the unknown by way of spectacle, sentimentality, glamour, mortality, and answering the phone. Read the most recent review here!
Additional Press: Oklahoma Contemporary, Oklahoma City Free Press, The Dance Enthusiast (NYC), Oyedrum
Additional performances and touring history:
Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center in Oklahoma City, OK (2024), Arts Mission Oak Cliff in Dallas, TX (2024), First Street Studio in Austin, TX (2024), the Westside Theater in Missoula, MT (2022), the Loft in Greenwich, CT (2020), the Fremont Abbey in Seattle, WA (2022), Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn, NY (2022), the Queens Theatre in Queens, NY (2021), the Ace Hotel in NYC (2019 & 2020), Triskelion Arts (2024, 2022)
Written, directed, choreographed by Hannah Garner
Dancers: Courtney Barth, Hannah Garner, Will Noling, Ryan Yamauchi
Costume, set, prop: Ariel Noltimier- Strauss
Music: Offerte non encore exécutée, H. 522 by Musica Antiqua Köln & Reinhard Goebel, Le chevalier du guet (The Night Watch Officer) performed by André Claveau, Mathé Altéry, Christian Borel & Claire Vallin, O Waly, Waly performed by Chanticleer, I’m Sorry by Brenda Lee, Nocturne Op.9 No.2 In e Flat Major composed by Frederic Chopin and performed by Brigitte Engerer, Dancing Queen by ABBA, Parlez-moi d'amour by Lucienne Boyer, Messe a 3 voix (Panis angelicus) composed by César Franck and performed by Debrecen Kodaly Choir, Dezso Karasszon, and Salamon Kamp
Length: about 1.5 hours
Premiere: June 13-15, 2019 @ Triskelion Arts (Muriel Schulman Theater)
Special thanks to Ann Noling, Tory Bailey, TDF, Triskelion Arts, Ariel Noltimier-Strauss, Eliza Doyle, Alexa Carroll.
Created as 2019 Artist in Residence at Triskelion Arts.
Photos: Ingrid Holmquist
“Perhaps the highest praise I personally can give RED and 2nd Best Dance Company is that they reminded me what dance is particularly good for: it is an art form that makes us viscerally aware of time, and yet one that excels at helping us feel we can cheat it.”
