WHEN YOUR ARMS ACHED, I WATCHED THE MOUNTAIN HOLD ITS FRAGILE FORM
A Solo Show
May 17-19, 2019
Base: Experimental Arts + Space
6520 5th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98108
Work In progress showing -
12 Minutes Max
Base: Base: Experimental Arts + Space & On The Boards
May 2018
Residencies for this project -
Open Flight Residency: Flight Deck
Studio Current
UW Residency. body, space, time...
University of Washington
WHEN YOUR ARMS ACHED, I WATCHED THE MOUNTAIN HOLD ITS FRAGILE FORM
is a durational performance that explores the connection between embodied strength and submission. Juxtaposing the imagery of the female body with that of the mountain, Swersky navigates objectification, resilience and the inevitability of aging. Provoking the allure and control of the male gaze, Swersky brings the omnipresent into view. Marking her first evening-length solo performance, Mountain is a journey through oppression and sorrow towards grace and collective empowerment.
Two years in the making, Mountain was created during multiple residencies at: The University of Washington, Hanna Barn on Vashon, and 10 degrees. It is made possible by generous support from individual donors and Cornish College of the Arts.
CONCEPTION, CHOREOGRAPHY AND PERFORMANCE: Alia Swersky
VISUAL ARTIST: Mya Kerner
SOUND DESIGN: Monika Khot
LIGHTING DESIGN: Amiya Brown
CREATIVE COLLABORATOR: Hannah Rice
A walk towards the sun...the moon...and the stars…
Yellow Fish Durational Performance Art Festival
August 2018
Previously performed 2015, 2016
A solo performance designed for one individual at a time and intended as an inimitable offering, a ritual, and an inquiry into what is essential. A walk towards the sun…the moon…and the stars…creates an intimate, personalized performance experience which unfolds as performer and viewer presently and patiently arrive.
the sad sanctuary / between the ritual and the weeping wall
Cornish Dance Theater
April 2017
A cast of all female dancers will inhabit the courtyard at the Cornish Playhouse (Seattle Center) to perform a 45 minute site specific dance work. The sad sanctuary / between the ritual and the weeping wall explores the myriad ways women gather and inhabit space together, with special attention to notions of support and witness. The work uses this rich site as a place to play with collective imagination; the work lets the architecture host elastic images which iterate, reiterate and subvert gendered notions of bodies.
Beneath Our Own Immensity
Cornish Dance Theater
April 2011
“Beneath Our Own Immensity” began as a site-specific work as part of Cornish College of the Arts Dance Theater in 2011. As I was creating the performance of “Beneath Our Own Immensity” in the stunning underpass-park, I-5 Colonnade, it became evident this work NEEDED to be filmed. The resulting footage captures the gritty beauty and fierce abandon of the dancers, the dusty splendor of the site and the visceral interaction between the two. The collaboration and relationships with the performers making this work were transformative for both myself and for the dancers, and the resulting performances were raw and powerful.
A site-specific dance-film set in the urban underbelly; a dark, lush journey through a gritty world lying mostly out of sight