Keen (Part 1) brings a powerful yet often hidden emotion to life within the Glass House and its dramatic grounds. Keen (Part 1) embodies the emotional and physical experience of loss, memory and holding love, and filters it through the lens of serene Modernism and chaotic wilderness. An all-woman cast dressed in red alternate between synchronized movements and stark solitary wanderings––the sum of their movements create a whole, vulnerable and hopeful self. Juxtaposing ancient rites of mourning with threads inspired by the 1967 “Country Happening” at the Glass House, a performance of the great modern dance choreographer Merce Cunningham and the Velvet Underground, Keen (Part 1) both adheres to and departs from formal dance structures to share an unbridled and varied experience of grief.

Choreography Ivy Baldwin
Performed by Ivy Baldwin, Anna Carapetyan, Eleanor Smith and Katie Workum
Music Composition Justin Jones, with additional music by The Velvet Underground
Costume Design Mindy Nelson and Ivy Baldwin

Film by Derrick Belcham / A Story Well Told
Performance Organized by Irene Shum / The Glass House
Ivy Baldwin Dance Creative Producer, Meredith Boggia
Glass House Production Manager, Kate Lichota

Premiere Philip Johnson Glass House, 2016

“Baldwin has created a powerful mourning meditation”
– Dance View Times

“Even pared down, “Keen” is an emotionally charged work that, in just over an hour, transforms much of the Glass House property — from the area around the pond, to the house, to the vast front lawn — into a stage.”
– New Canaan News

Keen (Part 1) was commissioned by the Philip Johnson Glass House with major support from the William and Karen Tell Foundation. Keen (Part 1) was incubated during residencies in 2015 & 2016 at The Glass House. Keen (Part 1) was made possible, in part, through the Abrons Arts Center Artist-in-Residence program and support from the Jerome Foundation and the IBD Commissioning Circle–Michael Grossman, Robert and Judith Baldwin, and Tina and Woodson Duncan.