Vessel is a performance work using dance and voice to explore the concept that all aspects of our bodies, each and every cell, retain our memories and underlie our imaginations. In collaboration with AXIS, choreographer, Alex Ketley, and poet, Carol Snow, explored the idea that actual spoken language resides in movement and that a unique text could be accessed and accumulated through choreographed dance and directed improvisation. Vessel offered a fascinating collection of voices generated by the dancers from many different perspectives. The dancers’ spoken improvisations, drawn directly from movement, were recorded and then edited and organized by Carol Snow to provide the work’s score.
![Rodney leans forward in his wheelchair, grabbing the foot of Sonsherée as she leans against him and pivots forward. Both dancers wear all black.](https://axisdance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/AXIS-161_1_Web-1024x680.jpg)
Premier November 2008
Choreographer: Alex Ketley in collaboration with the dancers.
Dancers: Rodney Bell, Sonsherée Giles, Alice Shepard, Janet Das
Text: Improvised by the dancers and arranged by Carol Snow
Underlying Sound Score: Fink, Philip Jeck, Hecker collaged by Tar@JMB
Costumes: Sonsherée Giles
Lighting Design: Heather Basarab