Halloween weekend saw Performa 13 throw a fundraiser for the celebration of New York's performance artists. The party would set off three weeks of events through the city. The event was filled with the great and good of New York's artistic patrons, mingling with performance artists. The artists were easy to spot, as there is an entirely different dress code when it comes to performing at a fancy event. Rainbow suits, Mayhem T-shirts, and a devil may care attitude.
There were performances throughout the cocktail reception, most notable of which was a woman who rang her tongue in such a way – if beat boxing and IDM were combined this would be it.
Also on display were works for sale, bid on through an iPad system, before the main auction, hosted by Paddle 8, took place.
After the beatbox the guests were shepherded into dinner for a five course foray..
The highlight of the evening was, of course, the after dinner party. As people were still chatting at the tables the curtain suddenly fell down dancers in tight black clothing surrounded them; running through around the tables making noise. Dinner was over.
The next course were two singers from both ends of the spectrum. A gospel singer who hit the A over high C in “I will always love you” and a grindcore singer who perfected the snarl of “hammer smashed face” - a Cannibal Corpse classic. Then the last thing I expected of the evening happened – a dance party. Donna Summer, a dance troop combined with older people who remember how to disco. It was a sight to behold.
Text by John Hutt
Photographs by Tanya Kiseleva
