5) “Non Finito (For Rosa).” (1964). Rosa Smith. Composed for self-performance. Lights rise on one woman, naked, holding a white long-stemmed rose, staring at it with supreme concentration. Willing it to grow. Boos from the audience are integral.

6) “A Suicide For Paula Glade.” (1977). Norma McHollis. An interesting history. Preparation for this piece was extensive. McHollis translated the English alphabet into a vocabulary of small gestures and movements (ie. “m” was denoted by a sharp lowering of the chin, “x” by a splaying of fingers of one’s right hand). This catalog of gestures bore many variations and depended on a number of subtle valences. For example, lowercase “f” was represented by a crossing of arms across one’s chest, while capital “F” required that one hug oneself violently. With this catalog of movements McHollis translates the diary entry of a fourteen year old girl, dated July 12, 1963, detailing her rape by a friend of her mother’s. The girl killed herself before the diary was found. McHollis “rewrites” this confession into a solo piece. Spaces between words are represented by ten second intervals of stillness. The end of each sentence is marked by a thirty second interval. The piece concludes with the dancer standing stock still, expressionless, for an hour. Sometimes longer.

7) “Meat Joy II.” (1969). The Cut Collective. Post-Actionist psychodrama/improvisation. Within a 7X10 cage, prosthetic limbs slick with pigs’ blood are thrown onto a trampoline. Several animals are set loose: pigs, chickens. Recordings of circular saws are played at high volume. Men in red robes surround the cage on all sides and chant, in grunting intonations, “Schnee-mann . . . Schnee-mann.” During which Carolee Schneemann is called on speaker phone to comment.