XwhY

XwhY Artist Statement

Premiered at Christie's New York, ‘XwhY’ is a compositional-improvisational score explores the restrictions and tension that gender markers place on a person. X marks the spot—from floor patterns, to movement, to marking the body with red lipstick—to enunciate the hardships of a nonbinary identity constantly gendered as female. This hypnotic score utilizes memories as movement scores to enunciate the hardships of nonbinary/female identities. The memories emote physical distress and exhaustion that signify the paradox between being associated and assimilated as a woman to the nonbinary self who is more than simply both, neither or in between. Self-isolation and the communal empathic responses Karley received inspired their new work, 'Glitch.'

XwhY - at Christie's New York (premier)

Choreographed and Performed by: Karley Wasaff
Original Soundscore by Karley Wasaff

Performances:
-Love Moves Showcase on February 5th, 2023. Presented by
Drye|Marinaro Dance Company at 3 Dollar Bill, Brooklyn, NY
-Studio to Stage on June 4th & 5th, 2021 at Alpha Omega Theatrical
Dance Company, 70 E 4th St. Manhattan, NY
-Midwest RAD Fest on March 5th, 2021. Kalamazoo, MI
-A Charity Exhibition: Christie’s New York on February 9th, 2020.
Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, NY (premier)

Residency: Studio to Stage with Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company, 70 E 4th St. Manhattan, NY

XwhY - Love Moves Showcase (2023)

XwhY investigates body trauma and empowerment through movement. Each performance serves as a form of time travel, where movement revisits past traumas and transforms them into empowerment and healing.

XwhY is a compositional-improvisation score that channels reclamation to foster resilience, healing through movement while navigating the hardships that gender markers impose on nonbinary and female identities. Using memories and “X marks the spot” as movement scores, XwhY transforms body trauma into empowerment, resonating with the urgency of reclaiming agency and autonomy in today’s socio-political climate.

XwhY - at Studio to Stage: Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company (2021)

History

XwhY premiered at Christie’s Auction House in New York City on February 7, 2020, during Educate: A Charity Exhibition, where Karley was coined as the first performing art soloist at Christie’s New York. In 2021, the live performance toured at Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Studio to Stage in NYC, SMUSH Gallery in Jersey City, and the Kun-Yang Lin Inhale Performance Series in Philadelphia. XwhY was commissioned as a dance-for-film by RAD Fest in Michigan and has since screened at Comeback Selection: Take Your Medicine and Smile in Los Angeles and the Essence of Embodiment Film Festival at SMUSH Gallery. The XwhY live performance was restaged in 2023 for Love Moves 2023 Showcase by Drye|Marinaro Dance Company at 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn and showcased with Secret City Cabaret at Soho Playhouse. In June 2024, XwhY was commissioned by New Dance Alliance for a live performance at Performance Mix 38 at Abrons Arts Center. One Day Dance Festival commissioned XwhY for ODDFEST Film Festival at The Tank, revamping the 2021 dance-for-film version. Additional 2024 film screenings include Nostalgia Palooza gallery at Theater for the New City, MetaBetties’ Reclaim the Chain at the Oculus, MODArts Dance Collective's Move to Change at National Dance Institute, and Festival Regards at Cinema Arvor with CineCorps in France. XwhY was most recently presented by The Human Experience at Memoir of the Human Body onFebruary 19, 2025

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