David Byrne’s American Utopia has been regarded as one the most ambitious stage shows in rock history; a performance that enables the entire band to move freely about the stage is rare. Spinning Platters recently had an opportunity to catch up with one of Byrne’s collaborators on this project, choreographer Annie-B Parsons, to discuss this show, her method, and music in general.
How did you end up syncing up with David Byrne?
Well, many, many years ago, we had a mutual friend that took Byrne to see my work. I think David sees tons and tons of downtown (NYC) theater and dance, and he had this idea in – I don’t know, 2010? – when he did the Brian Eno tour, that he would invite three choreographers to make work. So I made a couple of dances for him then, and that’s how I ended up doing work with him. I did a couple of other tours: the St. Vincent tour (Love This Giant), and then also the current one, American Utopia.
The St. Vincent tour seems like an early inspiration for this tour, when the musicians were your dancers. How do you audition for that?
Well, I don’t have the opportunity to audition them at all. David hires them as musicians, and then tells them that “they better love to dance, because we have a choreographer involved.” But I don’t meet them until after I have planned a draft of the whole project, and then meet them in rehearsal.
Have you ever had a musician who couldn’t handle the movement while playing in David’s shows?
Let’s just say “no.” We adapt the material if the musician finds it too challenging.
This particular tour is playing an immense variety of shapes and sizes of stage. How do you adapt such a strictly choreographed event to different environments?
I don’t travel with the show, but I have a dance captain that travels with the show that does, and I’ve worked with him since he was a student. He adapts it during soundcheck to expand and contract based on the shape of the show. But, yes, it is challenging.
How many times have you seen the show since it’s been on the road?
I went to all of the shows at the beginning, when we were doing the warm up shows in upstate New York. And then I went to Mexico City, and then Chicago. So, maybe five or ten times?
Has it evolved much from your initial choreographing to how it is now?
It needs maintenance. It evolves. I work from video tape and send notes. And it has evolved in that it has more generosity within the forms. The forms are really strict, and, just like music, the adherence to the spacing and tonalities, besides just the movements themselves are exactly the same every night. But, within, the performers have made the choreography “warmer.” Little things that I wished I thought of – like, there is a moment where David leans back, and the two back-up singers catch him. And, now, all of the performers lean back. It’s beautiful, and they just started doing that. I absolutely loved it!
That’s so cool!
Annie Clark of St. Vincent. She has this interesting way of moving on stage where she takes such tiny steps that it looks like she’s gliding. It feels like I first noticed this on the Love The Giant tour. Was that her, or was that you who developed this?
Oh, that was her. She didn’t move too much on that tour because she was wired and connected to her pedals. But she would do a little bit of that movement, and I don’t know where it came from, but it was definitely all hers. And when I did her next show, which was her self-titled tour, she explored that a lot bit more. But I didn’t make that up.
How do you factor in cable placement when choreographing a show?
Well, David is the only one that’s gotten rid of the cables, so it’s very de rigueur to work with cables, so I’m used to it. I think all artists like limitations, and that’s been sort of an ubiquitous limitation. In Annie’s last show, the “Fear The Future” tour, during the first six months when she played without a band, I worked on that. She didn’t have a cable, so we did a lot of stuff with space. I think that’s a very personal choice, and I think that she got interested in that by working with David, because she really doesn’t like to be wired. He wants to dance, he wants to move, he wants to explore space as one of the elements of his show. That’s his sensibility. I’m good either way; they just present their own choreographic issues.
In terms of the actual staging of the show, how much input does someone like David or Annie have? Do they give you a bunch of ideas and you run with it? Is it collaborative from beginning to end?
I’m laughing because they are both so funny. They are different in the way that they approach it. I mean, they both have ideas that they are starting with, and those ideas are very much what shapes the nature, the tone, the style of the show. So they share that. David started out American Utopia with this idea that he’s going to have a white box, a white floor, people in suits that are wireless, and that all came to pass. That aesthetic is the aesthetic of the show. When St. Vincent did the self-titled thing, she was working with this throne that was pink. And I did stuff with her falling down the stairs. And those guys have brilliant ideas and are so wonderful to work with, but after that, they are both very open. They both share this freedom of collaboration where they aren’t hovering all over me. David really, especially on this tour, is extremely collaborative. He has a choreographic mind, so talking to him about choreography — it’s a very easy conversation. The moves themselves, I make them in my room at home. That all happens before I get together with him. But I know his world, and I wouldn’t make anything for him that I wouldn’t make for anybody else; you know what I mean. His music sounds very distinct. And, that’s true for Annie, too. She’s a dancer, and later in the self-titled tour she added dancers that I made material for. I’m not even sure she saw that material until it was in the show. Like, she made the costumes and I know her world, so I know the ballpark I’m in.
These two performers have their visions honed in pretty nicely. Have you ever had to work with someone that didn’t have it quite so dialed in?
Yes. Often. That’s more typical that you work with performers or artists, I mean, those guys are more than performers or artists, right? They are both giants, even if they weren’t well known, they are giant artistic thinkers. Most of the people I have worked with in theater and pop music aren’t that. They all come with a lot of ideas, or they are really nervous about what you are going to make, that’s also fine. It’s just a really different experience. There is a lot thrown out in those situations. It’s more typical that there is a lot of push and pull with material. It’s not that they are more trusting people, but I’ve worked with them a lot. Their vision is very total, so it’s easier to get into it. It’s easier to know where you are.
Is there anybody out there that you would like to work with? Anyone that you think you would make good magic with?
I would love some dances for Benjamin Clementine. I wanted to make stuff for Sufjan (Stevens). This is kind of a fun question! It’s like, when you hear that music, do you have ideas for dances? I hear music all the time, and think, “I wanna make dances for this.”
I saw Jojo Abot recently. I’d love to make a dance for her. But she’s a choreographer, so she doesn’t need me. She’s very shamanistic — from Ghana.
Is there a particular Benjamin Clementine song that comes to mind?
There isn’t a particular song, but it’s his more Brechtian stuff, his newer work. It’s less singer/songwriter, and feels more like you are in a play. I bet he would make a great theater composer. I’ve seen his show, and I told him that he looks like he’d make an interesting dance.
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David Byrne’s American Utopia tour is coming through the Bay Area with four shows! His shows at The Fox in Oakland on August 16th & 17th are sold out, but you can still snag tickets to see him at City National Civic on August 18th and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on August 22nd.
