TUBING: SPIRIT MATERIALS

TUBING: SPIRIT MATERIALS began as a continuation of my research into holes, alternative anatomies, and disorientation. My research surrounding holes is both a formal question around the missing, the unrecognizable, the unfinished, the gaps — and a conceptual question around abjection, absence, and failure. In William Pope.L’s “Hole Theory” he proposes holes as connectors of lack. One hole connecting to another creates a tube. By embodying the tubular anatomy of the body (the mouth to the anus), the linear verticality of the spine is disrupted and the haunted, moist interior comes to the foreground. “Tubing” became an ongoing group practice that was about connection, touch, imagination, and energetic exchange. Over time, a group practice and culture is created with its own language and lexicon. This piece also continues my research into disorientation both in the body of the dancer and in the body of the viewer. Using objects, we created a technology of how to obscure, obfuscate, and disorient — rendering the body strange and unfinished.

Concept: Madison Palffy

Choreography: Madison Palffy in collaboration with Maghan Baptiste, Sonya Marx, and Mara Poliak

Sound: “Indecision” by Carmen 16 and Etsey Field Organ Tones by Ron Schniederman

Premiere: Provincetown Dance Festival, August 22-23, 2025