Performance Works NW (PWNW) launched their winter season at the end of December and continues it in January. SMALLER is the dance improvisation duo of Karen Nelson and Nica Portavia, in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Evan Strauss Friday, January 17, 7:30 pm. The piece takes its name from Steve Paxton’s Small Dance query, “Can it be smaller?” In Contact Improvisation fashion, Nelson and Portavia, along with Strauss’ living music, give their current answer, and explore the gigantic space found even within the most seemingly predictable outcomes.
The second part of the evening will include a Tribute of Small Dance to honor the inspiration of Steve Paxton, the instigator of the dance form Contact Improvisation, who passed away in February 2024. His January 21 birthday also inspires a chance to recall and review a small sample of Paxton’s many pointings, physical gestures, writings and performance interactions.
Nelson and Portavia continue their time at PWNW with Faking It With Gravity, Saturday, January 18 (10 am-5 pm with one hour break) and Sunday, January (10 am-3 pm). The two-day workshop will create a space of inquiry to study and research Contact Improvisation, including Tuning Scores and Material for the Spine. There will also be an open jam Saturday, 7-9 pm.
Finishing out the month is Linda K. Johnson’s PASTfuture Long-Form Archival Conversations Series. The series picks up again with the first of six new public interviews with Portland’s dance elders. In this edition, Johnson will talk with PWNW director and lighting wizard Jeff Forbes Sunday, January 26, 11 am-1 pm.
For additional details on the Winter Season (which continues into early February) and to purchase tickets, visit pwnw-pdx.org. PWNW is located at 4625 SE 67th Ave.