Another Language Performing Arts Company

Elizabeth A. Miklavcic - Choreographic Works

Photographic Memory - June 25, 1994

Photographic Memory (1994)

Choreographers: Elizabeth A. Miklavcic & Jimmy H. Miklavcic
Music: (Video Credits)
Costuming: Elizabeth A. Miklavcic
Set Design: Elizabeth & Jimmy Miklavcic
Set Construction: Jimmy H. Miklavcic
Lighting: Jimmy H. Miklavcic
Dancers: Elizabeth A. Miklavcic & Jimmy H. Miklavcic
Location: Utah Arts Festival, Festi-Live Stage - Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Length: 11:28 minutes

Description
Inspired by the title of a poem by William Butler Yeats, To A Wealthy Man Who Promised A Second Subscription To The Dublin Municipal Gallery If It Were Proved The People Wanted Pictures, from the book Responsibilities: Poems and a Play. Elizabeth pictured as she read this title, dancers in frames instead of paintings. She thought of old photos on bureaus of great, great grandmothers and grandfathers posing in their Sunday best for a family portrait.

Danced by Elizabeth and Jimmy Miklavcic, Photographic Memory is based on the concept of a troubled relationship. Set in the Victorian era, the dance depicts a couple's life, showing moments of joy, dependency, connection and conflict. As the couple looks back on the memory of their relationship, represented by the picture frames, they dance the moments of their lives together. In this case, the couple begin together then split apart, and come together again, ending when Jimmy finally disappears, leaving for good. The dance movements combine moments of stillness as if frozen in a picture frame; constrained, resistant, slow motion movement, as well as fast release movement symbolizing moments of freedom for the individuals, especially for the female dancer. Her sadness by the eventual leaving of the man could be interpreted in such a way, that her life ends when the relationship ends.

Festi-LIVE! Stage, Utah Arts Festival Delta Center, SLC, Utah
Another Language Performing Arts Company was a featured arts organization at the 1994 Utah Arts Festival Festi-LIVE! Stage, performing at prime-time for three evenings. The Festi-LIVE! Stage was an indoor venue set in the northeast corner of the Delta Center. The Delta Center is a large stadium that is located adjacent to the Triad Center, which was the home of the Utah Arts Festival from 1984-1999. This video of Photographic Memory is an edited version from three different performances taken from three different camera angles. Performing for the Utah Arts Festival was a wonderful way for Another Language Performing Arts Company to reach a broader audience and to be a part of a notable annual event that took place in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.