METRO ART PRESENTS Moving Through, a month of dance and movement for times of change, premiering online on four Thursdays at 7pm in April 2021 in collaboration with Pieter Performance Space, an LA-based platform and community.

Four Pieter teaching artists will bring their approaches to movement practice to different corners of Union Station to deliver site specific programs, each with a tie to transit, ranging from the practical (meditative movement to bring calm during a hurried commute) to abstract (through Cunningham Technique, a systems-based dance form developed by choreographer Merce Cunningham) to the historical (in the case of House Dance’s relationship to the subway system in Chicago and New York). The culminating program is BAGGAGE, a theatrical dance work for film by choreographer and dancer Jay Carlon with musician Alex Wand, developed onsite in response to Union Station’s historic Ticketing Hall.

 

Thurs, April 1, 2021 – Movement of Stillness with Joy Alegria

Joy offers a sequence of breath, stretching, and meditation practices to bring our awareness to the present, even while in transit.

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Thurs, April 8, 2021 – Cunningham Technique® with Chard Gonzalez

Chard, joined by dancers Tamsin Carlson, Julie Opiel, and Heather Seybolt, shares exercises from the dance technique that Merce Cunningham developed, exploring how the spine and limbs can move independently from one another and in concert.

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Thurs, April 15, 2021 – House Dance: Dance Happens Everywhere with Emiko Sugiyama

Emiko, joined by dancers Andrea Lomelin and Juliet Mendoza, breaks down some foundational steps for House Dance and then puts them all together in a dynamic sequence that will bring the club to anywhere you are!

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Thurs, April 22, 2021 – BAGGAGE, A New Dance Film by Jay Carlon with Musician Alex Wand

BAGGAGE celebrates origin stories and embodies the many histories of arrivals and departures at the station and in our lives. A personal family narrative is unpacked through music, dance, and memory inside the Union Station Ticketing Hall.

 

Watch the Performance

 

About the Partner

Pieter Performance Space was founded at a studio in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles by Jmy James Kidd in 2010. A unique and expansive art community grew over the following decade, centered around an ethos of non-monetary exchange and reciprocity of generosity. Having left the studio in August 2020 amidst the pandemic, Pieter is currently an entirely virtual platform for classes, workshops and events led by dancers, healers and activists offering a multitude of approaches to body-based practice. www.pieterpasd.com // @pieterperformancespace