Series: New Television
Program: Set and Reset, Version 1
Date: 1985-01-01
Duration: 00:00;32

Subject: Modern dance; Dance production
People: Brown, Trisha; Hultman, Irene; Karczag, Eva; Madden, Diane; Petronio, Stephen; Schick, Vicky; Warshaw, Randy
Copyright Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation and Trisha Brown Company

Clip Description
The opening sequence from "Set and Reset, Version 1" begins in silence, focusing on the activities of a few performers as they travel past the camera in a tight group.

Program Description
This episode of "New Television" features "Set and Reset, Version 1" by the Trisha Brown Company.

In this collaborative work choreographed by Trisha Brown and filmed by James Byrne, the camera becomes an active participant. The piece begins in silence, focusing on the activities of a few performers. As the music comes in, the view expands to take in the larger ensemble. The physical presence of the cameraperson is discernible throughout as the camera moves freely and teeters off-balance with the dancers, at times getting very close to them. In Trisha Brown's signature style -- smooth, gliding, and purposeful -- the dancers move in and out of partnering and unison movements. Brown herself is a prominent performer. Laurie Anderson created the original score, entitled "Long Time No See," commissioned especially for this piece. It is very rhythmic and upbeat. The hazy and transparent costumes were designed by Robert Rauschenberg, and feature black-and-gray designs on white cloth.

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/Set174.HTML