Two ladies (dancers)

Yvonne Rainer – Trio A 1966 

This is what some of the dancers thought of the event. 

What sort of thing are you doing here today?

First lady

I do a piece called Trio A which is a contemporary dance that was done in the 1960s, and it rejected a lot of things that had gone before it. It was sort of a no to seducing the audience, a no the spectacle and a no to phrasing. You just do it; you don’t acknowledge the audience. Nothing repeats and it lasts for about 6 minutes and we do it anywhere we like within the gallery space.

Second lady

I’m doing the same piece, but I could say a bit more about how it fits into the gallery if that would be helpful.

So it’s funny because we’ve performed it in dance and performance venues and this space is so different, because people aren’t sure whether they are allowed to watch us or not. I found a lot of people either watch you while kind of walking away at the same time or you have people who really stand far too close to you. There’s kind of a different art audience I think.

First lady

What is sort of interesting about dancing in a gallery space is people’s awareness the sense of you. Some people would walk past you and not even realise you’re doing anything and other people will take the time to really spend time with you and that’s been really interesting because obviously when you are on a stage you’re very, you’re distant from the audience to a certain extent and it’s nice to be in a space with people. 

Do you find it strange the fact that there’s so many people doing so many things around you that people don’t know whether you’re dancers or just participators?

Second lady

I quite like that. Some people might think that we are just participants but sometime they realise that were actually supposed to be here, it’s quite a funny balance. I think it’s nice that people can just come across people moving and sort of be surprised by it and see something that they otherwise might not necessary see, which is so nice in this space, which is public.

I feel rather ashamed to call them Lady 1 and 2. I didn't think to get their names. They were both really lovely people and were so helpful. I am very grateful to them.

This is what my boyfriend thought of the dancers. 

What did you think of the dancers?

I thought it was quite interesting having them there. It added another element to it. It was only at the end when I sort of read about their involvement in it, which was quite interesting. It added more of a visual element. It was sort of living art. It was obviously dance, but it was at an art exhibition and this raises the question of how we interpret different art. If you put things in different contexts then it changes their meaning.