Trio A Pressured (1966-2011)

Trio A consists of a 5-minute sequence of movement that was initially presented as The Mind is a Muscle, Part I (1966) at Judson Church. There it was performed by Yvonne Rainer, David Gordon and Steve Paxton simultaneously but not in unison. Since then the dance has taken on myriad forms, from execution by a large group in the nude to a retrograde version by Pat Catterson to a recent “geriatric with talking” version by Rainer herself. In the festival three previous incarnations will be presented collectively: Forward (1966), Facing (1999) and Retrograde (1970).

Yvonne Rainer is a dancer, choreographer, filmmaker and co-founder of the highly influential Judson Dance Theater in New York. After studying at the Martha Graham School and with Merce Cunningham, she began to choreograph works through which she could challenge traditional notions of dance performance, most notably in Trio A (1966). Her work in the 1970s, increasingly film-based, became more oriented towards content and context while still maintaining a focus upon form. Rainer has received numerous awards and fellowships, including two Guggenheims, two Rockefellers, a Wexner, and a MacArthur.

Pat Catterson, a New York based choreographer, dancer and educator, presented her first full evening of choreography at Judson Church in 1970. Subsequently she has choreographed 102 works. She first performed Yvonne Rainer’s work in 1969 and since 1999 has been her dancer and rehearsal assistant, touring nationally and internationally. Catterson has received multiple grants and is a 2011 recipient of a Guggenheim Grant.