Photos and Video: Courtesy of Jessica Lang Dance
1, 2, 3, 4, 5: Jessica Lang Dance performing Thousand Yard Stare. Photo: Todd Rosenberg
6: Jessica Lang Dance performing Thousand Yard Stare. Photo: Sharen Bradford
7: Jessica Lang Dance performing Thousand Yard Stare. Photo: Rosalie O'Connor
8: Jessica Lang Dance performing Thousand Yard Stare. Dancers: Patrick Coker, Jammie Walker. Photo: Rosalie O'Connor
Video: Jessica Lang Dance performing Thousand Yard Stare, on tour.
Thousand Yard Stare
Choreography: Jessica Lang
Music: Ludwig van BeethovenCostume Design: Bradon McDonald
Lighting Design: Nicole Pearce
Length: 20 minutes
Number of Dancers: 9
This work was originally created for and produced by Jessica Lang Dance and premiered in 2016. It made possible with generous support from Geoff Fallon and co-commissioned by Des Moines Performing Arts.
Premiere Cast: Clifton Brown, Randy Castillo, Julie Fiorenza, John Harnage, Eve Jacobs, Kana Kimura, Laura Mead, Milan Misko, Jammie Walker
“the rituals of war are rendered with abstract simplicity, while the losses rush at one with a throat-catching straightforwardness.”
- Janine Parker, Boston Globe, July 6, 2017
“plainly a masterpiece...a study in tight camaraderie and repeated loss...the connection between dancers- as between soldiers- couldn't be more trusting or visceral.”
- Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times, November 11, 2016
“a mesmerizing work of symbolic and revealing movement...evoking loyalty, terror, sacrifice, and the many complexities and tensions of individuals at war.”
- Libby Hanssen, The Kansas City Star, October 2, 2016
“Pride, honor, hope, fear, friendship, loss and helplessness are all there, as are shock, trauma and mourning. Thousand Yard Stare puts humanity itself under the microscope.”
- Lauren Gallagher, DanceTabs, June 22, 2016
“evoked the desperation for fellow humanity and loss and longing that seem to define life, whether in a war zone or not.”
- Alexandra Villarreal, Huffington Post, June 21, 2016
“This ballet is spare yet evocative, gorgeous throughout.”
- Laura Bleiberg, Los Angeles Times, February 22, 2016
Year in Review: Best of 2015: “a remarkable evocation, minimal yet profound, of soldiers in formation and at war. Moving and masterful.”
- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times, December 18, 2015
“But a preview of a 2016 work virtually stripped of design, "Thousand Yard Stare," showed that Lang has got the goods even without the gewgaws. The title expression is a vivid descriptor for battle-worn soldiers' mental state, derived from a 1945 Life magazine story. And this piece for nine, based on Lang's talks with soldiers and research on post-traumatic stress disorder, creates an all-too-vivid underworld of loss, of camaraderie and isolation, and of the mind that's trapped there. Pearce's impeccable lighting once again picks out the essential.”
- Laura Molzahn, Chicago Tribune, November 7, 2015
Performance History:
Jessica Lang Dance:
Preview:
November 6, 2015 in Chicago, IL
January 30, 2016 in Birmingham, AL
Premiere: February 11, 2016 in Des Moines, IA
February 19, 2016 in Irvine, CA
April 2, 2016 in Lydon, VT
April 12, 2016 in Tulsa, OK
May 28, 2016 in Tivoli, NY
June 14-19, 2016 in New York, NY
July 26, 2016 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico
July 29-30, 2016 in Mexico City, Mexico
October 1, 2016 in Kansas City, MO
October 28-29, 2016 in Vancouver, BC
November 10-12, 2016 in Seattle, WA
November 18-19, 2016 in Victoria, BC
December 1, 2016 in Meridian, MS
December 9, 2016 in Dallas, TX
January 13, 2017 in Park City, UT
January 27-28, 2017 in Boston, MA
February 8, 2017 in Boone, NC
February 9, 2017 in Clemson, SC
February 17-19, 2017 in Los Angeles, CA
February 25, 2017 in Indianapolis, IN
February 28, 2017 in East Lansing, MI
March 4, 2017 in Cleveland, OH
March 7, 2017 in Interlochen, MI
March 10-11, 2017 in New York, NY
March 23, 2017 in Iowa City, IA
April 5-9, 2017 in Philadelphia, PA
April 12, 2017 in University Park, PA
April 14, 2017 in Bloomsburg, PA
April 20-22, 2017 in Tel Aviv, Israel
March 13, 2017 in New Orleans, LA
March 20, 2017 in Houston, TX
May 23, 2017 in Santa Fe, NM
July 5-9, 2017 in Becket, MA
October 7, 2017 in Long Beach, CA
October 20, 2017 in Annapolis, MD
October 21, 2017 in Reading, PA
December 2-3, 2017 in Moscow, Russia
Janaury 20, 2018 inDanville, KY
Janaury 26-27, 2018 in Notre Dame, IN
February 2, 2018 in St. Joseph, MN
February 5, 2018 in Naples, FL
February 8, 2018 in Amherst, MA
February 10, 2018 in New Bedford, MA
March 8-10, 2018 in Portland, OR
March 17, 2018 in Madison, WI
March 24, 2018 in Brookfield, WI
April 14, 2018 in Portland, ME
April 18, 2018 in Storrs, CT
April 21, 2018 in Burlington, VT
May 5, 2018 in Purchase, NY
May 10, 2018 in Omaha, NB
May 18, 2018 in Louisville, KY
September 20, 2018 in Fayetteville, AR
October 5, 2018 in Boulder, CO
November 7, 2018 in Gainsville, FL
November 12, 2018 in Charlotte, NC
November 14, 2018 in Gettysburg, PA
November 16, 2018 in Princeton, NJ
January 11-12, 2019 in Lakeworth, FL
February 1, 2019 in Ogden, UT
February 21, 2019 in Santa Barbara, CA
February 28 - March 2, 2019 in San Francisco, CA
March 5, 2019 in Malibu, CA
March 14, 2019 in Aiken, SC
April 14, 2019 in Virginia Beach, VA