Do Not Forget It

This performance of Alferi’s 2002 cinépoème “Ne l’oublié pas” arranges three lines of poetry that change at different rates (the last one doesn’t change) to create different phrase combinations that lead to the same conclusion. The result appears to be combinatorial, but because the medium is video, there is actually an unvarying sequence, so it evokes how a multiplicity of experiences and rapid sensory information enters the frail storage medium that is memory.

The dancers move in ways that evoke the process of creating memories and attempting to keep them. Their dance leads to poses and pauses, some of which contain reminders of where thoughts are stored. The use of a lead dancer is an important strategy in the performance underscores an intuition to be found in Alferi’s video poem: that variation is memorable. Note how with her distinct costume and dance, framed by the other dancers moving in recurring poses, the lead dancer captures and commands attention, pulling together the fragmented performances into a coherent experience.

Choreography: Sarah Burns
Poetry: Pierre Alferi (“Ne l’oublie pas”)
Dancers: Jennifer Apter, Andrea Fitzpatrick, Jessica Nagler,
Julie Spendal, Farrah Thompson, Jessica Walts

(Source: Leonardo Flores, I ♥ E-Poetry)