Charles Atlas / Rashaun Mitchell / Silas Riener

A pioneer in combining the worlds of filmmaking/video art and performance, Charles Atlas launched his career working as a lighting and set designer for Merce Cunningham Dance Company before becoming its filmmaker-in-residence. Together with Cunningham, Atlas developed what he called “media dance,” or works in which the camera performs along with the dancers being filmed. In addition to working with Cunningham and dance artists Michael Clark and Yvonne Rainer, Atlas has collaborated with visual artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol.

Since 2010 Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener have created dance in response to complex spatial environments, often merging elements of fantasy, absurdity, and contemplation into multifaceted performance works. After working together in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the Bessie Award–winning artists developed a keen interest in the way abstraction and representation coincide in the body. Their collaborations have taken many forms, from traditional pieces to site-specific installations and intimate, immersive experiences. Riener performed Cunningham’s Changeling (1957) at the Wex in 2016 at the opening for the survey exhibition Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933–1957.

Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener website