In this seminal work of performance science Jörg Müller and Jess Curtis create a structure wherein the audience members each assess their level of engagement throughout out the piece and report back to the performers, spontaneously creating the timing of the piece. 11 performative events (or micro-pieces) are presented by Curtis and Müller, each requiring a different degree of virtuosity, ranging from the most basic (rolling balls onto the stage) to the most spectacular (Müller's world- renowned anal broom balancing and the duo's phenomenal contact improvisation duet work). Along the way the audience is treated to the witty banter and profound improvisational commentary of the two "Performance Researchers."

The piece is at once an entertaining audience participation cabaret act and a post-modern wake-up call demanding that the observer acknowledge and take responsibility for his or her experience of and effect upon the performative event. Approved for viewing public of all ages.
— Jess Curtis

Nous proposons une pièce composée de 11 micropieces (plus ou moins). Le public est invité à communiquer clairement et fortement quand il s'ennuie. C'est un peu comme à la télé. Le premier spectateur qui a envie de voir autre chose que la micropiece proposée dit clairement et fortement : "1", le deuxième "2" … Les performeurs décident d'arrêter la micropiece pour passer à la suivante, en fonction de leurs humeurs, leurs propres envies et des fois simplement au chiffre "5".

Les boules de pétanques représentent le temps, la vie dure de la campagne et le jeu bien sûr (point central de la performance). Le balai la propreté, l'ordre et le temps de ménage. Le slip blanc classique est symbole de la naissance, de la feuille blanche que nous étions quand nous étions bébé. Une expérience entre danse et cirque pour tout public confondu.
— Jörg Müller

Photos by Robbie Sweeny.

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Jess Curtis has created a body of work ranging from the underground extremes of Mission District Warehouses with Contraband and CORE (1985-1998) to the formal refinement and exuberance of European State Theaters and Circus Tents with Compagnie Cahin-Caha (1992-2002) and Jess Curtis/Gravity (2000-present). Along with numerous fellowships and funding awards, his work has been recognized with the prestigious 2011 Alpert Award in the Arts for choreography, a total of six Isadora Duncan Dance awards, the 2011 Homer Avila Award for Physically Diverse Dance, and a Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Curtis teaches Dance, Contact Improvisation, and Interdisciplinary Performance throughout the US and Europe and is currently a Ph.D candidate in Performance Studies at the University of California at Davis focusing on embodiment and performativity in movement-based performance.

Jörg Müller graduated from the Centre National des Arts du Cirque in Chalons-en-Champagne in 1994. While there he created “mobile,” a movement/manipulation work utilizing suspended resonant tubes. His most recent tube work, “noustube” (2008), invited several artists to create performances in a 9-ft tall glass tube filled with water. As a circus artist he has toured with Cirque Plume, Compagnie Cahin-Caha, Martin Schwietzke, and Compagnie Anomalie. Jörg has worked with many choreographers, including Pierre Doussaint, François Verret, Haim Adri, Kitsou Dubois, Julie Nioche, and Jess Curtis.