Seattle Choreographer on What She Loves (and Hates) About Dance
Nancy Guppy invites Seattle choreographer Peggy Piacenza to dance
By Nancy Guppy October 21, 2014
This article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.
Peggy Piacenza has been dancing for more than 25 years, collaborating with prominent avant-garde choreographers such as Dayna Hanson, Pat Graney and Deborah Hay. Touch Me Here is her first full-length solo piece, a “movement memoir” informed in part by Lotan Baba (the “rolling saint” of India) and the Fellini film Nights of Cabiria. Using a one-two punch of humor and pathos, Piacenza blends dance, film and theater with original music performed live by cellist Scott Bell. 11/20–11/22. 8 p.m. $15–$20. Washington Hall, 153 14th Ave.; 206.316.7613; washingtonhall.org
LOCATION: Uptown Espresso in Magnolia
PEGGY’S DRINK: Iced Americano with cream
Nancy Guppy: Was dance your first love?
Peggy Piacenza: Yes, absolutely. I was dancing with scarves like Isadora Duncan and choreographing dances for the kids in my neighborhood when I was 7 or 8 years old.
NG: What do you love most about dance?
PP: I love to move, the physicality of it. And I love the poetic, abstract language of dance. It’s a way of seeing the world.
NG: What do you hate most about dance?
PP: Sometimes it can be really boring.
NG: How would you describe yourself as a dancer/choreographer?
PP: Inquisitive. There’s always a philosophical edge, a quest. I’m always searching for something.
NG: What are you exploring in Touch Me Here?
PP: The theme of touch is really important—how we’re touched artistically, spiritually, physically, emotionally, sexually, intellectually, all that. How does touch transform us? How does art do so?
NG: I read that the show is a “very personal departure from past work.” How so?
PP: I’m taking inspiration from something deeply personal in my own life and I’ve never done that quite so literally.
NG: As a performer you are esoteric and comedic. Do you try to be funny?
PP: I don’t try to be funny, but I think it’s in my blood. I’m also intrigued with how time works in choreography and I think I might have a slight sense of comedic timing.
NG: What should newcomers to dance know before seeing a performance?
PP: Don’t try to understand it. Don’t try to have to put a literal meaning. People get in trouble when they try to make a linear story.
NG: Success—what does it look like?
PP: To see something through. Whether it’s cleaning your house or putting on a show.
Nancy Guppy showcases Seattle artists on her show, Art Zone (seattlechannel.org/artzone).
Follow Us
Holiday Hunt in Pioneer Square
A daily ornament drop turns December into a neighborhood-wide scavenger hunt.
The holidays tend to bring out the kid in all of us. And if opening presents and eating too many treats weren’t enough, there’s also a scavenger hunt in Seattle’s oldest neighborhood. Pioneer Square’s Holiday Ornament Scavenger Hunt has returned for its third year. Twenty-five handblown glass ornaments—all made at Glasshouse Studio—are hidden across 25…
Chit-Chat Kids
Phone a friend.
Twenty years ago, before everyone walked around with a device in their pocket, kids used to call each other on a landline—often tethered to the kitchen in their home. It was a simpler time, when parents didn’t have to worry (nearly as much) about a potential predator contacting their child. Nowadays, things are different, which…
A Plate for Pickleball
The design celebrates the state’s official sport. Additional plates are on the way.
Washington served up a new license plate last week, honoring the state sport of pickleball. In the works for three years, it’s the second of seven specialty plates to hit the market since getting approved by lawmakers earlier this year. “We’re thrilled to see our efforts become reality,” says Kate Van Gent, vice president of…
Seattle-Based Agency Brings Real Voices to NBC’s New Campaign
DNA&STONE built the project around candid conversations to understand what audiences want from reporting.
“I turned off news altogether. I want to be able to form my own opinions. Just tell the truth.” These lines open NBC News’ new national campaign, a 60-second ad that drifts over forests, farms, neighborhoods, and cityscapes while Americans talk about how worn out they feel by the news. The landscape carries the conversation…