Radial Courses premiered in January 1976 at Washington Square Methodist Church in New York City. It was revived several times and was performed as part of the program for Lucinda Childs Dance Company’s 25th anniversary tour: “Parcours,” a collection of new and reconstructed works.
Radial Courses
1976
Radial Courses in performance, Wednesday, December 16, 2009, at the Bessie Schönberg Dance Theater - PAC, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY. Sarah Lawrence College dancers: Ilona Bito, Nick Feder, Teresa Fellion, and Kay Ottinger.
The quartet Radial Courses follows the path of a circle, where the three movement phrases (one walking and two skip-hops) are measured by the geometry of the circle, traversing either halfway or three-quarters around the perimeter. Because of the complex nature of her choreography, Childs devises methods for dancers to “reset” if they lose track of their place in the dance during performance. This video of Radial Courses from a performance at Sarah Lawrence College, December 2009, demonstrates such an occurrence. At the 10:58 marker, one dancer calls out the need to reset, and the place in the choreography to begin again. Recovery situations such as this are built in to the rehearsal process.
December 16–17, 2009
Bessie Schönberg Dance Theatre
Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, NY
Cast
Ilona Bito
Nick Feder
Teresa Fellion
Kay Ottinger
And
Sarah Fiske
Patrick Gallagher
Aya Sato
Mercedes Searer
October 10, 2010
The Performance Garage
Philadelphia
Cast
Ilona Bito
Nick Feder
Teresa Fellion
Kay Ottinger
The reconstruction of Lucinda Childs’ Radial Courses (1976) at Sarah Lawrence College was made possible by “American Masterpieces: Dance,” a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, which is administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts with Dance/USA.
Premiere: January 23–24 and 30–31, 1976
Washington Square Methodist Church
New York
First cast
James Barth
Cynthia Hedstrom
Judy Padow
David Woodberry
Additional works on program
Congeries on Edges for 20 Obliques (1975)
Reclining Rondo (1975)
Mix Detail (1976)
Transverse Exchanges (1976)
Subsequent program with other works
Transverse Exchanges (1976)
Duplicate Suite (1975)
Plaza (1977)
Melody Excerpt (1977)
Interior Drama (1977)
Cast
Cynthia Hedstrom
Daniel McCusker
Judy Padow
Andé Peck
Dates of subsequent program
November 3–6, 1977
Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
November 20–21, 1977
Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam
November 24, 1977
Sigma Festival des Arts et Tendances Contemporaines, Bordeaux
November 26, 1977
Maison de la Culture de Rennes, France
November 28–29, December 1–4, 1977
Festival International de la Danse, Theatre Champs-Elysees, Paris
July 27–30, 1995
Festival d’Avignon, Cour d’Honneur du Palais des Papes
Cast
Ty Boomershine
Bruce Jones
Michele Pogliani
Garry Reigenborn
April 19–20, 1990
As part of the program
“Dance at Judson: A Concert with
Lucinda Childs and David Gordon,”
Judson Memorial Church
New York
Cast
Meg Harper
Cathy Lipowicz
José Navas
Michele Pogliani
Additional works on program
Pastime (1963)
Cast
Lucinda Childs
25th-anniversary tour: "Parcours," a collection of new and reconstructed works, April 17–October 13, 2000
April 17–21, 2000
Théâtre de la Ville
Paris
April 26, 2000
Centre Jean Renoir
Dieppe, France
April 28–29, 2000
Le Phenix
Valenciennes, France
May 4, 2000
La Filature
Mulhouse, France
May 7, 2000
Steps Festival, Théâtre Municipal
Lausanne, Switzerland
May 11, 2000
Steps Festival, Casino
Zug, Switzerland
May 14, 2000
Steps Festival, Stadttheater
Basel, Switzerland
June 24, 2000
Festival de Danse, Cour des Ursulines
Montpelier, France
June 26, 2000
Festival de Danse, Le Corum
Montpelier, France
August 8, 10–11, 2000
tanz2000.at
Volkstheater, Vienna
August 15–17, 2000
Tanz in August Festival
Hebbel Theater, Berlin
October 11–13, 2000
Next Wave Festival, Harvey Theater
Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
Cast
Keith Sabado
Garry Reigenborn
Bruce Jones
Dušan Týnek
Production collaborators
Lighting: Pat Dignan
Additional works on program
Concerto (1993)
From the White Edge of Phrygia (1995)
Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector (1998)
Commencement (1995)
Variété de variété (2000)
July 26, 2010
Rockefeller Park
New York
Performed as part of the event,
“We Give Ourselves Away at Every Moment: An Event for Merce”
Cast
Vincent McClosky
Travis Magee
Patrick John O’Neill
Joshua Green
October 10, 2010
The Performance Garage
Philadelphia
Cast
Ilona Bito
Nick Feder
Teresa Fellion
Kay Ottinger
Performance history as of December 2014.
“Parcours” [video recording]
New York Public Library, Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Research Call Number: *MGZIA 4-4989
Videotaped in performance at Harvey Lichtenstein Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, as part of the Next Wave Festival on October 13, 2000.
Contents
Variété de variété
2000, U.S. premiere, ca. 22 min.
Cast
Tricia Brouk
Tamsin Carlson
Janet Charleston
Lucinda Childs
María de Lourdes Dávila
Philip Gardner
Jennifer Lane Howard
Bruce Jones
Krista Miller
Hope Mohr
Garry Reigenborn
Keith Sabado
Dušan Týnek
David Zurak
Credits
Music: Mauricio Kagel
excerpts from Variété and Rrrrrrrr: 8 organ pieces and 5 Jazzstück
Lighting: Eric Wurtz
Concerto
1993, ca. 9 min.
Cast
María de Lourdes Dávila
Philip Gardner
Jennifer Lane Howard
Krista Miller
Hope Mohr
Keith Sabado
Dušan Týnek
Credits
Music: Henryk Mikołaj Górecki
concerto for harpsichord and strings
Commencement
2000, U.S. premiere, ca. 22 min.
Cast
Lucinda Childs
Credits
Music: Zygmunt Krauze
commencement for solo harpsichord
Costume: Ronaldus Shamask, Suzanne Gallo
From the white edge of Phrygia
1995, U.S. premiere, ca. 21 min.
Cast
Tricia Brouk
Tamsin Carlson
Janet Charleston
María de Lourdes Dávila
Philip Gardner
Jennifer Lane Howard
Bruce Jones
Krista Miller
Garry Reigenborn
Keith Sabado
Dušan Týnek
David Zurak
Credits
Music: Stephen Montague
“At the white edge of Phrygia”
Sunrise of the planetary dream collector
1998, U.S. premiere, ca. 10 min.
Cast
Tricia Brouk
Tamsin Carlson
Janet Charleston
Jennifer Lane Howard
Hope Mohr
Credits
Music: Terry Riley
“Sunrise of the planetary dream collector”
Radial Courses
1976, ca. 12 min.
Cast
Bruce Jones
Garry Reigenborn
Keith Sabado
Dušan Týnek
For a score of Radial Courses, see, Anne Livet, Contemporary Dance: An Anthology of Lectures, Interviews and Essays with Many of the Most Important Contemporary American Choreographers, Scholars and Critics. New York: Abbeville Press, 1978.
Archival Media
