For part-time Amagansett resident, artist educator and former dancer Kim Profaci, puppets are her vehicles for storytelling.
This Friday, March 13, at The Church in Sag Harbor, Profaci brings her Modern Marionette Company along for “The Fundamentals of Style — Martha Graham” inspired by the ongoing exhibition the arts-centric locale is currently showcasing, titled “Martha Graham: Collaborations.” Armed with her personally handmade, three-foot-tall clay marionettes (all donned in the intricate costumes she also makes for them), Profaci seeks to explore aspects of Graham’s upbringing and personal life as well as themes of form, movement, and expression of The Graham Technique — a foundational modern dance style developed by the renowned modern dancer, built on the principles of “contraction and release.”
“Her childhood was fascinating,” Profaci says of the internationally acclaimed dancer. “And that is one of the big takeaways for me, that as a child, how she viewed the world around her, what she observed. Like the veils that the women would wear and the children would wear on the streets of Pittsburgh to protect themselves from the coal dust and the way they swayed. She was just a small child, but all these things just kept feeding into her creativity and that’s what really laid the foundation for her work.”
Armed with a small army of marionettes she creates herself, Profaci’s next performance at The Church will highlight the great works of iconic dancer and choreographer, Martha Graham. (Photos courtesy of Kim Profaci)
Designed for audiences of all ages, Profaci’s puppet show will demonstrate the revolutionary choreography and unique fundamentals of Graham’s dancing style, which, to say the least, are pretty specific. Her marionettes will perform adaptations of some of the late icon’s most prolific dance routines, including the ballet “Heretic” and “Lamentation,” the latter of which is considered a groundbreaking modern dance solo portraying the universal essence of grief. For those that don’t know, Graham would perform this routine seated while encased in a tube of purple jersey fabric, creating sharp, angular, and anguished shapes, which aimed to represent the struggle within the confines of sorrow. It was first performed in 1930 and remains a foundational masterpiece in modern dance and Profaci worked hard to make sure her puppets could do it.
“Both ‘Heretic’ and ‘Lamentations’ are so interesting and symbolic,” Profaci says. “The audience will not just be sitting there observing. I want them to participate in the sense that I want them to think. I want them to understand that Martha Graham was a unique thinker and I want them to understand one of her biggest fundamentals is the breathing. Not just the shallow breathing that we do all the time, but the understanding that when you breathe, you release and you contract. So I’m going to have them do that as they sit there in the audience.”
Starts at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $20, $15 for members and students 18 and younger. To reserve your spot, click here. The Church is located at 48 Madison St. in Sag Harbor. For more information call 631-919-5342.
