M. Giants of Sciants and WIPI: Work in the Performance of Improvisation, 1995-2000

The Giants of Sciants included the improvisers: Penny Campbell, Terry Creach, Peter Schmitz and Susan Sgorbati. This ensemble created a form of the performance of improvisation and performed over several years at Bennington College, at Middlebury College, in New York City and in Burlington, Vermont. Susan Sgorbati and Penny Campbell had studied improvisation intensively with Judith Dunn and Bill Dixon at Bennington College. Susan and Penny started performing improvisation together several years after they graduated from Bennington. Peter Schmitz and Penny formed “Two Peas in a Pod” having worked together at Middlebury College. Then, everyone was excited to bring Terry Creach into the mix to form a quartet. The performances were very experimental, and there were collaborations with musicians, Arthur Brooks and Michael Chorney. Sue Rees created dynamic sculptures that could be climbed on, moved around and reassembled. There were many memorable moments, one being Sgorbati being lifted in the air by Schmitz and thrown through the space into Creach’s arms. Campbell and Schmitz were Masters of using text in dance improvisation, and elaborate stories were told, created and bantered back and forth.

Through this work, the summer session, “Work in the Performance of Improvisation” was offered. This intensive week-long workshop happened for ten years at Bennington College. Many well-known choreographers and improvisers participated in these summer sessions, including the Architects that were Jennifer Kayle, Pam Vail, Katherine Ferrier and Lisa Gonzales. Sue Rees collaborated most summers by providing a session with an elaborate design of objects and sculptures.

Serious conversations and movement structures were created and the performance of improvisation was developed and refined through a compositional lens over those ten years.

WIPI was a one week summer residential program at Bennington College.