Show Pony

Exploring the politics in performance of both human and animal, Show Pony contains movement researched from studies of horsemanship, equine figure, Lower Manhattan socialite authority, tap dance, Broadway standards and Executive Directors.

Placed in an arena in Forrest Hills, Queens with two horses at liberty — Bourbon and Spartan.

Performers: Benin Gardner, Jack Meriwether, Isabelle Dayton, Yang Sun, Spencer Claus, Clara Kim, Sophie Frizzell

Sound: Jon Perry Davis

Dramaturgy: Natalia Fernàndez

Assistant Dramaturgy: Harry Pont

“There’s much to be said about the choreography of everyday life – of objects, and animals, flocks of birds, kids on playgrounds – creating accidental organization or incidental acts of composition.  In Show Pony, Westbrook invites the audience to examine their own desire to personify another living thing and to wrangle a definition of performance and of being. The striking ontological juxtaposition between the horses and Meriwether, Gardner, and Dayton was bridged by a common behavior, a shared mystery, and unpredictable willingess.  While the dancers movements, at moments, seemed like gestures of flattery or expertly distorted mimicry, they still remained distinctly human and charged by personhood. “ — CultureBot