Series: New Television
Program: New Television
Episode: 407
Date: 1987-01-01
Duration: 00:01:11

Subject: Modern dance; Dance production
People: Barr, Burt; Brown, Trisha
Copyright Holder: Burt Barr

Clip Description
Burt Barr looks at the performance of "Carmen" by Trisha Brown at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy Scenes include details of the ornate theater, both empty and with the audience stirring in their seats before the performance. Backstage, Trisha Brown speaks directly to the camera and prepares for the show with a makeup artist. In rehearsal clothes, a duet is shown over and over again. A woman treads her way across the space to her male partner, who slowly lowers her to the ground. This same movement sequence is shown in performance, with full costumes. While the item that was broadcast featured music from the opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet, it is mute throughout this short clip.

Program Description
This episode of "New Television" features Dennis Darmek's "Roseland Recollections," Gaby Agis and Bob Bentley's "Freefall," Burt Barr's "Trisha and Carmen," and Myriam Alaux's "Criss X Cross."

Roseland Recollections "Roseland Recollections," features two female dancers performing a duet using techniques of unison and partnering. The work is five minutes long. Copyright: Dennis Darmek ?

Freefall In "Freefall," which is just under 40 minutes long, Gaby Agis and Company perform dance movement sequences in several distinct sections and locations. Produced by David Stacey. Directed by Bob Bentley. Copyright: Arts Council of Great Britain.

In "Trisha and Carmen," which is approximately 13 minutes long, video artist Burt Barr turns his eye to choreographer Trisha Brown's performance of Carmen at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy. Copyright: Burt Barr.

Criss X Cross In "Criss X Cross," by Myriam Alaux, dance sequences express the hidden emotions of three characters caught up in a philosophical chamber drama. Approximately eight and one-half minutes long. Produced and directed by Myriam Alaux. Copyright: Myriam Alaux.

Series Description
The New Television Workshop originated at WGBH, a public broadcasting station in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1974 to support the creation and development of experimental video art. This experimental programming included dance, drama, music, performance and visual arts on video and film. As early as 1968, WGBH was committed to the development of video art through residency programs, with artists such as Nam June Paik, and the "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" project. Many of these early works (pre-1974) were broadcast both locally and nationally.

As an umbrella for arts related programming, the Workshop included "Artist's Showcase, " "Frames of Reference, " "Dance for Camera, " "Poetry Breaks," and "New Television," as well as acquired arts programming. Individual works were created for "Visions," a series produced by WNET (New York), and "Alive From Off Center," a series produced by KTCA (St. Paul - Minneapolis). The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was co-founded by the Workshop and Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in the 1980's, to commission works by video artists. In 1993 the Workshop ceased production at WGBH.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/NTW/FA/TITLES/Trisha135.HTML