The Known Mass project, directed by Ann Glaviano and based in New Orleans, is a loose gathering of dancers, musicians, and artists in other media.
Known Mass was founded in 2013 as a performance project aiming to foster collaboration among local artists, aesthetically and ethically motivated by devised theatre and DIY punk traditions. With an eye towards community-building, Known Mass has also hosted contact improv classes and jams open to the public, as well as the Vector Series, with contemporary technique classes, structured improv sessions, phrasework labs, and more, taught by a diverse roster of local and visiting teachers and geared to the adult advanced or professional dancer.
for past performances, visit knownmass.com. for event updates from ann, visit annglaviano.com/monthly-newsletter.
ABOUT ANN:
Ann Glaviano is a writer, dance-maker, DJ, and born-and-raised New Orleanian. As a dance artist she maintains a wide-ranging practice: in addition to founding the Known Mass project, through which she has directed, produced, and toured 13 new works, she's also danced with the New Orleans Ballet Theatre, executed a lecture/demonstration alongside Deborah Hay, choreographed for Hulu, improvised the "ballerina rap" bit onstage with Hannibal Buress, and performed in a dystopic durational art installation in Dresden. Her first dance film, 01_fieldrecording, with Chris Givens, had its world premiere in 2019 at Highways in Los Angeles. Her new evening-length solo, an animal dance, has been supported by MANCC, the National Performance Network, the National Dance Project Finalist Award, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and the re:FRAME choreographic collective, among many others. For more than a decade, Ann has run a friendly neighborhood dive-bar dance party called HEATWAVE! spinning dance jams on vinyl from 1957-1974; she has been featured in Elle and nominated by Offbeat as Best DJ in New Orleans. Her prose has appeared in Best American Short Stories, Tin House, and Slate, among other publications. In 2018, in recognition of her cross-disciplinary artistic achievements and track record of art community facilitation, Ann was honored as one of Gambit’s 40 Under 40.
