The Bessie Award-winning “Variations on Themes from Lost and Found: Scenes from a Life and other works by John Bernd” returns to Danspace Project for a six-performance reprisal. Variations…premiered at Danspace Project in 2016, serving as the centerpiece of the historic Platform 2016: Lost & Found, curated by Ishmael Houston-Jones & Will Rawls. Co-directed by Ishmael Houston-Jones & Miguel Gutierrez with music by Nick Hallett, Variations… reconstructs dances, images, collages, themes, and excerpts from choreographer/dancer John Bernd’s (1953-1988) body of work to interrogate the effects of his loss on work made today.

Inspired, in part, by Bernd and the work of other New York dance makers who died during the first 15 years of the AIDS crisis, 1981-1996, Platform 2016: Lost & Found investigated the ongoing impact of HIV/AIDS and explored models of kin-making and caretaking by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists. The title was taken from Bernd’s trio of dances entitled Lost and Found, first performed at Danspace Project in 1982.

Photo by Ian Douglas