NAME: Parsons, David

BIRTH DATE/LOCATION:
29 October 1959, Kansas City, Illinois

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Parsons Dance Company in Ring Around the Rosie.
Photo: Lois Greenfield, courtesy Parsons Dance Company.

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  • identification & bio
  • key contact
  • human repositories
  • video documentation
  • photographic documentation
    		•
  • movement notation
  • production materials
  • oral history
  • personal papers
  • immediate needs
    		•
  • other relevant information
  • overview of works
  • bibliography
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    IDENTIFICATION AND BIO:
    A luminous starring dancer in the Paul Taylor Dance Company, David Parsons has served since 1987 as the artistic director of his own troupe. In 1993, Parsons choreographed Ring Around the Rosie, which treats the issue of AIDS through the metaphor of the medieval bubonic plague. In her review of the 1995 New York premiere at the Joyce Theater in New York City, Anna Kisselgoff, dance critic of the New York Times, writes: "In exploring how human nature reacts to catastrophe, Mr. Parsons takes a cue from his former mentor, Paul Taylor. Like Mr. Taylor's 'Last Look,' 'Rosie' is a study in the breakdown of society. The parallel between a medieval plague and AIDS is a given here, and the subject is less death than the literal fingerpointing members of a society engage in when fear accompanies disasters that cannot be viewed rationally." In the piece, Parsons dances the role of the Wanderer, who carries the infection, symbolized by Patricia Kenny. A wedding party welcomes these two guests with, as Kisselgoff puts it, "predictable results."

    KEY CONTACT PERSON(S)/EXECUTOR OF ESTATE:
    The Parsons Dance Company
    Eva Bornstein, executive director
    229 W. 42nd Street, Suite 800,
    NY, NY 10036
    212-869-9275 (phone)
    212-944-7417 (fax)
    eva@parsonsdance.org
    ParsonsNYC@aol.com
    www.parsonsdance.org

    HUMAN REPOSITORIES OF THE WORK
    (name and contact info, relationship to the artist and the work, assessment):
    At the 1995 New York premiere the cast consisted of the following:

    David Parsons as the Wanderer
    Patricia Kenny as the Pest
    Elizabeth Koeppen and Jaime Martinez as Bride and Groom
    Matthew Rodarte as the Doctor
    Robert Battle as the Scribe
    Mia McSwain as the Politician
    Charissa Barton as the Drunken Maiden

    VIDEO DOCUMENTATION
    (location, format, condition, assessment):
    The Dance Collection of the New York Public Library holds the following videotape:

    The Parsons Dance Company (1997)—videotaped performance at the Joyce Theater, NewYork, 11 June; videography by Video D Studios, Inc.; includes Ring Around the Rosie (1995); music by Richard Peaslee; lighting by Michael Chybowski; danced by David Parsons (the wanderer), Patricia Kenny (the pest), Elizabeth Koeppen (the bride), Jaime Martinez (the groom), Matthew Rodarte (the physician), Mia McSwain (the scribe), Sean Patrick Mahoney (the crippled), Robert Battle (the religious order), and Charissa Barton (the wench); one VHS videotape; 84 min.; call number MGZIA 4-2982.

    PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION
    (location, format, condition, assessment):
    The Dance Collection of the New York Public Library has photographs of the Parsons company, but none marked specifically for Ring Around the Rosie.

    MOVEMENT NOTATION
    (location, type [including notes taken by dancers], assessment):
    None for Ring Around the Rosie. The Dance Notation Bureau has prepared scores of three other works: The Brothers, Caught, and The Envelope.

    PRODUCTION MATERIALS
    (scores, sound recordings, set/costume designs):
    The Parsons company maintains these materials.

    ORAL HISTORY:
    None identified.

    PERSONAL PAPERS
    (location of newspaper clippings, printed programs, press releases, notes, files, diaries; assessment):
    The Parsons company maintains files. In addition, the Dance Collection of the New York Public Library keeps a file of clippings for "Parsons, David," call number MGZR.

    IMMEDIATE NEEDS
    (archival assistance? storage? other?):
    None identified.

    OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION:
    None identified.

    LIST OR OVERVIEW OF WORKS
    (title, premiere date, music, production notes, performers):

    Ring Around the Rosie (1995)—premiered at the Joyce Theater, New York City, 12 May; choreography by David Parsons; music by Richard Peaslee; lyrics by Mark Campbell; danced by David Parsons as the Wanderer, Patricia Kenny as the Pest, Elizabeth Koeppen and Jaime Martinez as Bride and Groom, Matthew Rodarte as the Doctor, Robert Battle as the Scribe, Mia McSwain as the Politician, and Charissa Barton as the Drunken Maiden.

    BIBLIOGRAPHY:

    • Kisselgoff, Anna. 1995. "Dance Review: Death Marches to a Children's Song." New York Times (18 May).
    • Morgan, Bethany. 1996. "New York." Ballet Review 24 (1) (Spring): 9.
    • Tobias, Anne. 1996. "Reviews: NYC, Parsons Dance Company." Dance Magazine (September): 98-99.
    • Wilson, Arthur T. 1995. "Parsons Dance Company Fireworks Awe Joyce Theater Audiences." Attitude 11 (2) (Summer): 12-13, illus.
         		 
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