THE DANCE CARTEL PRESENTS: WET CLUTCH
A COMING-OF-AGE STORY, inside of a ROM COM, disguised as an ACTION MOVIE…
COMING SOON TO A DRIVE-IN NEAR YOU
WET CLUTCH is a groundbreaking drive-in dance experience premiering Friday, September 8th at Seaport Music Festival. In a simulated drive-in setting, cars and audience surround a group of dancers who remix and reinterpret iconic female characters from the last four decades of Hollywood and cult films.
Building off a style developed in our signature dance-party-show ONTHEFLOOR, we’re bringing the Cartel spirit to a brand-new setting, obliterating the wall between viewer and participant with a high-energy performance style that communicates as much to the body as to the brain. The show culminates with a live DJ set by our long-time collaborator DJ Average Jo - by the end of a Cartel show, everyone is dancing.
WHY WET CLUTCH
The Cartel’s radically diverse dancers explore a variety of Hollywood role models (ranging from badass to idiotic) in order to break apart traditional ideas of leading women and reach a layered, multiple expression of what a heroine can be. Pulling from both cult favorites like Pam Anderson’s “Barb Wire” to Angela Bassett in “Strange Days,” to more mainstream staples like Ripley in “Alien,” choreographic reinterpretations of movie tropes are designed to open up a dialogue about the cultural mythology Hollywood provides. Original video content inspired by these icons will complement, surround and offset choreography, recontextualizing those images for a modern audience.
UPCOMING WIDE RELEASE
After the Seaport premiere on September 8th, the Cartel will adapt WET CLUTCH to a host of venues, indoor and outdoor, inviting audience vehicles wherever possible. Whether on foot or in cars, audiences will automatically become part of the architecture of the live choreography, collectively rendering and reimagining a cinematic world through dance.
HELP BRING WET CLUTCH TO STAGE AND SCREEN
Given the massive scope of the project, even with terrific institutional support we’ve only secured about ¼ of our budget. We’re looking to our beloved audience to bring this great labor of love life at the high production value it deserves.
Donations will help support: * modular and adaptable projection design + screens and tech at our range of venues * artist fees for intensive workshops and high-endurance, sweaty rehearsals * the genesis of complex original video content * new technology to keep that video running * designing quality costumes that conjure the cinematic world of the show * the moving set pieces (TDC vehicles) that bring the drive-in to life * the tourability and future of this show across America
The Cartel is ready to launch WET CLUTCH and bring it to a drive-in near you. GET IN THE CAR (or let us borrow yours)
ABOUT THE DANCE CARTEL
“This is live performance at its best… and you should go.” - Huffington Post
“ It’s haute-performance theory with a house party vibe.” - NY Times
THE DANCE CARTEL is after a new brand of dance experience.Taking note of a dance community that often serves a niche audience, the Cartel creates dances that are VIBRANT, IMMERSIVE and often PARTICIPATORY. Without sacrificing technical rigor or artistic ambition as a dance company, we endeavor to employ the social nature of dance, the charge of a party, and the sharpness of a music video to a fresh dance vocabulary that any Joe can get down with.
Since launching in 2012, the Cartel has performed at a radically diverse array of spaces - select highlights include: Ace Hotel NY, MoMA / PS 1, BAM, The High Line, OBERON/ART, The Brooklyn Museum, Summer on the Hudson, Le Poisson Rouge, Velocity Dance Center (Seattle, WA), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bootleg Theater (Los Angeles, CA), Edward Sharpe’s Big Top, Espaco Xisto (Salvador da Bahia, Brazil), IAC Building, La MaMa Moves!, Red Hook Festival, Space Gallery (Portland, ME). The Cartel has been featured in music videos for Yoko Ono, Vic Mensa, Reggie Watts, and The Sway Machinery. Upcoming: Seaport Music Festival, Storm King Art Center.
Concept & choreography: Ani Taj Performed by The Dance Cartel // Co-directed by Morgan Greene // Video Design: Stephen Arnoczy & Maddy Talias // Lighting design: Joe Cantalupo // Music Production: DJ Average Jo // Sound Design: John Albano // Dramaturgy: Tommy Smith
KICKSTARTER VIDEO by Maddy Talias
SPECIAL THANKS: Ace Hotel NY + Breslin Events Team, Seaport Music Festival, On the Moon Arts, Maddy Talias, Warwick Drive-In, Luke Ohlson, Aziza Barnes, Sam Pinkleton… many more
#BEYOUROWNGODDAMHERO
Risks and challenges
As far as we know, there is no precedent for a DRIVE-IN DANCE SHOW, so we are building a new format from the ground up - which is costly, though thrilling and worth the investment. Much like ONTHEFLOOR, touring and adapting this show to unlikely settings is a crucial part of bringing it to the broadest possible audience. A large part of that is educating venues that are not usually set-up for dance (i.e., drive-ins, music venues, outdoor parking lots) and bringing all of our tools to the table to make the show a success wherever it goes.
This requires more resourcefulness, portability and tenacity than performing in a blackbox theater or dance studio - and it’s also more expensive - but the payoff is huge.
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ