Panopticon
by Jillian Peña

Created in collaboration with and performed by Alexandra Albrecht + Andrew Champlin

Costumes by Christian Joy
Lighting by Kathy Kaufmann

Jillian Peña (creator) is a dance and video artist whose work seeks to make visible the confusion and desire of the self in relationship to itself and others. Her work is in dialogue with psychoanalysis, queer theory, pop media, and spirituality. Jillian was recently awarded the Prix Jardin d’Europe 2014 at ImpulsTanz Dance Festival in Vienna. She has been presented internationally, including at Danspace Project, American Realness, The Chocolate Factory, Dance Theater Workshop and The Kitchen in New York, and American Dance Institute, and ImPulsTanz Festival Vienna, Akademie der KunsteSophiensaele Berlin, Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, Modern Art Oxford, and the International Festival of Contemporary Art Slovenia. She was a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholar during which she was awarded an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was a fellowship recipient, and a Practice-based MPhil in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. She has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Center (LMCC), Performance Space 122, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Movement Research, the National Dance Center of Bucharest, Romania, and Archauz in Århus, Denmark. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Dance and the College of Art, Media, and Design at University of the Arts, Philadelphia. www.jilllianpena.com

Alexandra Albrecht (performer) is a freelance performer based in New York City. Her most notable collaborations and performances have been with Hilary Easton, Liz Glynn, Natalie Green, Ryan McNamara, Jillian Peña (Bessie nominated for Outstanding Performer) and Ani Taj/The Dance Cartel. She was a dancer for the Bessie Schoenberg Choreographic Residency at The Yard in the Summer of 2007 and curated Dance at The Tank from 2009-12. Her television appearances include Conan and The Late Late Show with Reggie Watts/The Dance Cartel and MTV2’s Guy Code. Additionally, Albrecht moonlights as a personal chef. She has a BFA in Dance and BA in Journalism from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and College of Arts and Science, respectively.

Andrew Champlin (performer) started dancing at the age of four in Portland, Oregon. After dancing professionally with Oregon Ballet Theatre he studied on scholarship at The School of American Ballet before matriculating at Eugene Lang College, The New School for Liberal Arts, where he earned a BA in sociology and dance. Andrew has performed with a wide range of dance artists including Pam Tanowitz, Ryan McNamara, Madeline Hollander, Macklin Kowal, Christopher Williams, Miguel Gutierrez, David Gordon, and Xavier le Roy among others. He teaches ballet for contemporary dancers and assists the internationally renowned ballet instructor Janet Panetta in New York City and abroad. Andrew was nominated for a Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer in Jillian Peña’s Polly Pocket: Expansion Pack in 2015.

Christian Joy (costume design) is an American costume designer and artist best known for her stage costume designs for Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer, Karen O. Using found articles and occasionally eschewing thread and print for glue and marker pens, she has influenced contemporary fashion with punk and DIY stylings. She has dressed Santigold, the UK band Klaxons, and Danish singer/songwriter Oh Land. Her costumes have been featured in exhibitions at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Diesel Art Gallery in Tokyo, Picture Farm Gallery in Brooklyn, AVA gallery in NYC, and Secret Project Robot in Brooklyn. She collaborated with TopShop on three limited-edition collections, and released her first personal ready-to-wear garments. http://www.christianjoy.us.com/

Kathy Kaufmann- A New York City native, her work has been seen throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. Ms. Kaufmann has been a resident designer at The Danspace Project at St. Marks Church for over 15 years. She regularly designs for many wonderful companies including Michelle Dorrance, Eiko and Koma, Joanna Kotze, David Parker and the Bang Group, Ben Munisteri, Keely Garfield, Hilary Easton, Gina Gibney, Cherylyn Lavagnino and Sally Silvers. She is the recipient of 2 Bessie awards, teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and lights special events for The Food Network.