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2021 · Dance – stage work

Pent

Archive folder: Stanford piece

Katie Faulkner · Stanford University

A dance film made with Stanford students during the pandemic, about pent-up energy and creative potential during a year of confinement, with music by Ben Juodvalkis.

Recollections

“We made PENT during the cold, fevered spring of 2021, banging on tables in the Haight during Covid. The music was completed before any video was shot.

Katie is a genius. I also remember that she was really excited to get a haircut on the rooftop.”

Ben
Premiere
2021-05-27
Venue
Stanford TAPS Spring 2021 Main Stage 'SPLICE: 5 Dance Films' (online, Vimeo on demand)
Where
Stanford, CA (online)
Performances
Streamed May 27-29, 2021.
Credits
Director, choreographer, and editor: Katie Faulkner. Composer: Ben Juodvalkis. Costume designer: Becky Bodurtha. Dancers: Nicholas Gessner, Olivia Higa, Justine Kaneda, Ruth Ling, Olivia Mitchel, Vivian Leilani Shay, Annie Zheng. Dancers' videographers: William Chow, Bradley Immel, Janelle Kaneda, Li Li, Jianhua Ling, Sabrina Lu, Valerie Nao Yoshimura, Ana Sy-Quia, Ryan Zheng. Program also included films by Diane Frank, Aleta Hayes ('Riot of Spring'), Alex Ketley, Ronnie Reddick.

Photographs

Aerial view of two dancers in dark leotards on a stone garden path, overlaid with the ‘SPLICE / 5 Dance Films’ program title.

Stanford TAPS

“PENT” title card from the SPLICE program.

Stanford TAPS

Ephemera

A wider view of an attic studio: synths and keyboards facing a window, a drum kit, two guitars, and a corkboard of pinned pages, mic stands in the foreground.

The attic studio where we made the score

A gravel rooftop in the late sun: a wooden folding chair, an acoustic guitar leaning on a small red metal table with an open notebook and a water bottle, and below the ledge a street corner of Victorian storefronts, parked cars, and a white pickup.

The roof of my place in the Haight

Dancer in a bright pink blazer and floral skirt sits at a small white desk in a golden field, head resting in her hands.

Stills from the film

Close-up of a dancer in a pink floral top, head bowed and hands in her hair, leaning on a dark table.
Dancer with long wavy hair leans over a rust-red outdoor table, one arm stretched across it, the other hand at her neck.
Black-and-white close-up profile of a dancer drinking from a glass.
Black-and-white split frame: a dancer peers around a doorway on the left; another bends sharply forward near a door on the right.
Black-and-white split frame: two dancers flank a narrow doorway, one climbing sideways in a patterned jacket, the other turning toward camera in a floral wrap.
Black-and-white split frame: a blurred kicking leg on the left; a dancer in a patterned blazer and leopard-print pants raises an arm on the right.
Dancer in a hot pink jumpsuit walks away through a lush garden of succulents and purple ground-cover flowers.

My pitch to Katie, the day I signed on to score it.

Ben: You could make the piece with built-in stuttering and video glitches — so the viewers have panic attacks because they think their internet isn't working.

Katie's reply to a banjo busker I recorded for her.

Katie: Oooh yeah! I can hear it now.

After our second session at my place, sending her the draft.

Ben: I like our thing.

Katie: Ben!! It's so good! Truly. I love it!!

My reply when Katie sent the finished film.

Ben: That's literally how I drink water every time.

Wrapping up by text, after the film was done.

Ben: I'm glad we got to do this one! It's a nice addition to our catalog.

Ben: U sure you're not gonna forget me now that you're Ivy League?

Katie: Please. You know I'm a poser.

Press

“Pent illuminates a particular state of bottlenecked energy and creative potential born out of this year of confinement.”

Elsewhere

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