Margaret Jenkins Dance Company

 
 

Margaret Jenkins Dance Company - Shorebirds Atlantic - 2003 - Dancers Kathleen Hermesdorf, Margaret Jenkins, Rinde Eckert - Photo by Margo Moritz

Story from Margaret Jenkins

I first met Kathleen at the University of Illinois, when my company toured there with, among other works, Shelf Life—with Rinde Eckert as singer, performer, and writer. Soon after she moved to the Bay Area. I mention this first sighting as I know it had some influence in her decision to move to the Bay, but also the irony in that the first work she would join the company for was the The Gates (Far Away Near) for which Rinde Eckert with Michael Palmer would write the text and narrative structure. This work premiered in 1993 in Chicago, the then home of Kathleen’s family—an extra treat for all of us. Its touring life was extensive around this country and in Eastern Europe, and so continued Kathleen’s impact on all of us.

The making of The Gates was a profoundly collaborative one (it is here that Kathleen met Stephanie Maher, starting a friendship that unfolded and flourished in Germany). Kathleen moved from the inside, out, her luscious easy flow pulling us to the center of what makes moving such a powerful unifier. While her unique technical character was always prominent, she had a way of showing, not showing off—as Merce Cunningham would say—that made her particularly moving. Besides this phenomenally heightened relationship to gesture, her capacity to collaborate with others imbued all conversations with a give and take, as she respected others’ opinions, but gave with a spirit that was quite remarkable and would continue through all of our next encounters. It was a privilege to know her moving spirit and the lessons learned from her were of legend.

Kathleen was in the following works and each time an essential “worker” – collaborator:

  • The Gates: Far Away Near (1993)

  • All the Rage (1993): for the opening of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

  • Fault (1996-1998): Kathleen replaced Ellie Klopp

  • Shorebirds Atlantic (2003): with Margaret Jenkins and Rinde Eckert for the 30th anniversary of MJDC

“Kathleen moved from the inside, out, her luscious easy flow pulling us to the center of what makes moving such a powerful unifier.”
— Margaret Jenkins about Kathleen Hermesdorf

Images

Audio and Video

The Gates: Far Away Near (1993)
by Margaret Jenkins Dance Company

  • Choreographic Direction: Margaret Jenkins with Ellie Klopp

  • Dancers/Collaborators:  Ellie Klopp, Kathleen Hermesdorf, Stephanie Maher, Martin Gould, Tony Coray, Sue Roginski, and Jon Weaver

  • Music: Paul Dresher

  • Costume Design: Sandra Woodall

  • Set and Lighting Design: Alex Nichols

  • Text and Narrative Structure: Michael Palmer and Rinde Eckert

  • Performance Location: Chicago, Illinois

Midnights: Kathleen (Far Away Near)

a Poem by Michael Palmer (2020)

Old Angel Midnight
appeared to me
as I attempted to visit

the Village of Hermes.
Those gates are closed
to you, said he,

didn’t you know,
until you discover the key,
and for that you must ask

Kathleen, Kathleen
who will tell you
that there is

no key, Kathleen
who will tell you
to move and so to see,

to move and so to speak
of a signal
that has gone out,

the burning of the palace,
the fragmentation of tongues
and the fire beneath the ground,

so The Gate of Desire,
The Gate of Breath,
The Gate of Birds,

and so Kathleen who
will tell you, that there 
is, never was, a key.