run through

Directed by Heather Warfel, Choreographed in collaboration with performers Tamir rios & gianna diaz, outside the lines at centEnary university, may 2021

Through repetitive movement which circles and shifts in energy, this duet explores exhaustion of all forms. Informed by the creators own experiences, and reinforced by the ideals of Tricia Hersey’s Nap Ministry, it is a suggestion that our country’s grind culture could use some thoughtful reconsideration.

out in this world

improvised performance series, 2022 - ongoing

These site-specific and spontaneous solo happenings explore disconnection - from our surroundings and from our own body. The first in what will ultimately be an ongoing series with multiple performers, these solos confront the public with people connecting to and exposing their primordial selves, albeit set within the rigid contexts of our modern environment.

Please do

Choreography/Performance: Heather Warfel with Meagan Woods Costumes: Heather Warfel, 2017

Please Do finds two independent dancers coming together in the enjoyment of rhythm, step, and gesture. Using our size difference as a comedic tool, we ask, “How does this movement look on two different bodies, and how does that dynamic change when the two bodies come into perfect sync? What if others join? How does the energy change when intention moves from competition to partnership?” Please Do is an open invitation to find the joy in moving in time with those around us.

THE UKULADIES!!!

ongoing!

The Ukuladies are made up of 3 incredibly talented musicians and vocalists… plus one tap-dancer (that’s me)! With a penchant for double entendre (read: love of corny jokes), the Ukuladies show is about harmony, having a good time, and lots of toy instruments and ukuleles.

You never know what you’ll find at a Ukuladies show, but there will probably be bacon and a stick horse…

Watch our video here! Asshole In An S.U.V.

transcendance

Choreography/Performance: Heather Warfel with Diana Uribe, 2019

This duet was inspired by the transcendent nature of losing oneself on the dance floor, exploring the pure joy and dichotomy of both connecting with and abandoning our awareness of the body.

By slowing down our favorite pop dance trends to a meditative speed, we articulate and celebrate the tiniest nuances of getting into the groove.

Everything feels so heavy

SMUSH Gallery, summer residency, 2020

For this installation at SMUSH Gallery, I sat in a daily 1hr meditation, holding the full weight of large/heavy everyday items. Experiencing the physical bearing of weight, which I actually find very comforting, as opposed to the emotional bearing of weight, which is so often draining and debilitating, provided an opportunity to explore the paradox of weightiness. With gravity as a steadfast partner, the installation juxtaposed my own anxiety and emotional burdens with the grounding energy of these objects - along the way, reconnecting with stillness.

jack halpin dj’d my wedding

performance installation, june 8, 2022

I turn 50, and worry that I might forget people. Sometimes I see a face and think, ‘I either know you or you’re famous.’ Were you in that show with me? Did we kiss at a party in 2001? Once, I ran into my friend Jack and completely forgot that he was the dj at my wedding. There’s desperation to hold on. I attempt to store that desperation on paper, to release it from my body, to write, from memory, the names of everyone I know and have ever known.

the two duets

Choreography/Performance: Heather Warfel with Ross Sandler Costumes: Heather Warfel, 2016

The Two Duets spawned from Ross’s and my deep appreciation of and respect for the soul and Motown music of the 1960’s. Using still images of groups like the Temptations and the Four Tops as source material, the piece employs gesture as a way to encourage the audience to absorb the profound expression of emotion in this music.

fiber & (k)not

KH&D at Eonta space, December 2019

As a guest performer/collaborator with Katelyn Halpern & Dancers, we staged a series of structured movement improvisations around the colorful textile sculptures of bayard. The context of the improvisations included the sense of touch and surprise interactions that take place during play. Sculpture: bayard, Movers: Katelyn Halpern, Ross Sandler, myself, Music: Elliot Cole

day

installation/performance, 16th annual jcast, jersey city, 2006

‘Day’ is a representation of getting caught in the monotony of day to day life, and how mindlessly repeating routine with no reflection or consciousness can, over time, leave behind, well, a mess. This installation was part of a curated show by the women’s art collective _gaia, bringing together art by local women in a group exhibition, a(d)dress. The event highlighted thirty-two women artists in an exhibition to promote local women artists’ work and awareness and advocacy of women’s issues.

dIVISION, a perspective…

the outlet dance project, Grounds for sculpture, 2008

In this performance experiment, the actors comment, in the most ridiculous of ways, on how political representation of our diverse American population has been boiled down into two opposing parties. In live performance, audience members were instructed to choose one of two flags, and to follow it around the park - regardless of where it took them - while viewing the performance from varying angles. Sometimes seeing the whole picture, sometimes not. Meanwhile, 2 men dig in their heels in a pointless, binary argument. Why do we choose sides and cling to them so desperately?

heavy craft, soft landing

art house productions, 2009

This performance took me well outside my comfort zone. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with director Christine Goodman on this original piece as co-writer and lead actor, both for the story it told about the human life cycle, and for the sincere relationships it created through open-hearted shared artistic creation. It carries personal significance for me as a reminder of the importance of two things I value most: community and collaboration. Co-written by Wade Savitt, Jack Halpin, Christine Goodman.

interview

with erin carlisle norton, movers & shapers podcast:

http://themovingarchitects.org/movers-shapers-move-dance-festival-heather-warfel-sandler/