Miguel Gutierrez

Background 

Miguel Gutierrez is a “dance artist” based in Brooklyn who creates both solo work and productions with his ensemble, The Powerful People.  His works incorporate a variety of artistic media in addition to movement, including spoken word, sound effects, music of his own or other’s creation, and video projections.  Among Gutierrez’s earliest engagements was in San Francisco’s Joe Goode Performance Group.  Upon parting ways with Joe Goode in 1996, he relocated to New York City and took on a seven-year stint with the John Jasperse Company.  In 2001, he formed his own company, called The Powerful People, for an artist residency at the Ensemble Studio Theatre.

Creative philosophy

Gutierrez does not subscribe to the traditional definitions of dance, dancers, choreographers, and dance companies, preferring to call himself a “dance artist” rather than a choreographer because the former is less confining.  He views artistic collaborations as opportunities to expand the multi-disciplinary network of talent at his disposal.  In his work, movement plays a secondary role to the individuals performing the movements in question.

Along with several other innovative members of his field, Gutierrez is critical of the expectations of performers’ appearance and capabilities that are prevalent in the dance community.  As a response to this, he purposely selects collaborators with diverse backgrounds and physical characteristics with the goal of inspiring a change in the current standards.  He believes that an artist’s choice of performers outwardly reflects their values and ideals.

Miguel Gutierrez on the understanding and appreciation of “challenging” dance works: http://www.walkerart.org/magazine/2012/dance-senses-and-distrust-body

Themes explored in his work include:

·            Human vulnerability

·            Life and death/existence

·            Connection between body and mind

·            Challenging the relationship between artist and audience

Notable projects

·            freedom of information (2001) was a response to the September 11 attacks and resulting conflict between the US and Afghanistan.  The work consists of an improvised solo movement lasting 24 continuous hours in which Gutierrez was blindfolded and ear-plugged for the duration of the performance.  Combined with its setting in a confined space, the piece is an act of solidarity with the victims, communicating feelings of isolation, displacement, and crisis.  freedom of information was reprised in 2008, this time conceived as a national event which ideally included one participant located in every state to perform the act simultaneously.  Performers representing over 30 states volunteered to participate.

Blog documenting the process of freedom of information 2008 and compiling participants’ reflections: http://www.freedomofinformation2008.blogspot.com/

New York Times overview of freedom of information 2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/arts/dance/30prot.html?ref=claudia_la_rocco&_r=0

Gutierrez in "freedom of information"

 

·            DEEP (Death Electric Emo Protest) Aerobics is a so-called “absurdist” workout class that has been sporadically ongoing since 2007.  Fueled by Gutierrez’s curiosity about the emotional effects of physical activity, the event challenges participants to explore ideas of self-expression and self-consciousness in a group setting.  The classes have been held at venues and festivals such as the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC, the Velocity Dance Center in Seattle, WA, and the Politics of Ecstasy Festival in Berlin.

·            In 2000 or 2001, Gutierrez created several duets under the title “Tandemonium, one of which he set to the song “Deceptacon” by feminist punk band Le Tigre and performed with a former musical collaborator, Howard Robot (currently known as My Robot Friend).  Because Howard was not a professional dancer, Gutierrez made the dance routine simple enough for him to perform.  A media writer who had recently interviewed Le Tigre frontwoman Kathleen Hanna and had also seen a live performance of the dance routine introduced the two creative forces.  Upon this meeting, Le Tigre decided to record a version of the dance routine to use as their official music video for “Deceptacon.”

·            And lose the name of action, which premiered at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in September 2012, is a product of Gutierrez’s fascination with philosophy, mortality, and the relationship between body and mind.  Inspired in part by the 1967 Danish short film “The Perfect Human,” the piece includes video footage, spoken text, singing, and recorded sounds in addition to an ensemble of six dancers.  The piece was most recently performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People in "And lose the name of action," BAM Next Wave Festival (2012)