Bad Smells

Music details
Audio sample

Bad Smells by Glenn Branca

Bad Smells
World premiere date
Premiere location place
Vancouver, Canada
Dancers

Barbara HoonMary Ann Kellogg, Shelley Washington

John CarrafaRaymond Kurshals, William Whitener, Keith Young

Total number of dancers
7
Runtime
00:16:30
Other program information

Video Camera Operator: Tom Rawe

A camera operator moves onstage amongst the dancers in Bad Smells, the live video feed projected on the back wall. Extreme close-ups, inverted images and jolting camera movements create a warped reiteration of the thrashing choreography. The floor, covered in silver mylar, twists the dancers’ reflections, adding another layer of distortion to the projected image. It is in this skewed environment that the dancers perform a final act of ritual sacrifice. 

Bad Smells premiered on the same program as Nine Sinatra Songs, preceeding the glamorous fantasy.

  • Rawe (with camera) and dancers during performance.

    <p>©Paul B. Goode</p>
  • Carrafa and Whitener in performance.

    <p>©Paul B. Goode</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>
  • Kellogg and Whitener perform.

    <p>©Paul B. Goode</p>
  • Company dancers perform in front of live video projections.

    <p>© Johan Elbers</p>
Full music program

Bad Smells
Commissioned by Twyla Tharp

Recorded by Glenn Branca and John Giorno
Featuring Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore
Written by Glenn Branca
From the album "Who You Staring At?" - 1982
Released by Giorno Poetry Systems
 

Music details
Audio sample

Bad Smells by Glenn Branca

Assorted Quartets (a.k.a Four Down Under) - Little Ballet - Bad Smells - Golden Section | Twyla Tharp Dance
New Zealand International Festival of the Arts
Wellington, New Zealand
Little Ballet - Assorted Quartets (a.k.a.Four Down Under) - Bad Smells - Golden Section | Twyla Tharp Dance
Canberra Theatre
Canberra, Australia
Little Ballet - Assorted Quartets (a.k.a.Four Down Under) - Bad Smells - Golden Section | Twyla Tharp Dance
The Opera Theatre
Adelaide, Australia
Little Ballet - Assorted Quartets (a.k.a Four Down Under) - Bad Smells - Golden Section | Twyla Tharp Dance
His Majesty's Theatre
Perth, Australia
Little Ballet - Assorted Quartets (a.k.a.Four Down Under) - Bad Smells - Golden Section | Twyla Tharp Dance
Her Majesty's Theatre
Sydney, Australia
Little Ballet - Assorted Quartets (a.k.a.Four Down Under) - Bad Smells - Golden Section | Twyla Tharp Dance
Victorian Arts Centre
Melbourne, Australia
Bad Smells (premiere) - Nine Sinatra Songs (premiere) - Sues Leg | Twyla Tharp Dance
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Vancouver, Canada