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George Petrov
SENSORY DEPRIVATION CROSS DANCE

first performed on July 20, 2013
87 Florida, Washington, D.C.
performed once in 2013

ZIAD NAGY

Washington, D.C.

www.ziadnagy.com

SENSORY DEPRIVATION CROSS DANCE
ZIAD NAGY

For the four hour duration of the opening of the show “Ladyparts,” I danced all over the gallery to music being played in noise cancelling headphones while blindfolded and cross-dressed.

I intended to conceptually address how gender is an independent and creative journey, one in which one should “dance as if no one is watching,” but what occurred was something I was not expecting. Similarly to Abramovič’s “Rhythm 0,” my performance turned out to be an endurance of anonymous teasing and bullying from audience members. And although this was a personally disturbing experience, it perfectly conveyed many social issues, particularly the abuse of other’s consent. What symbols or contexts gave permission to these individuals to be aggressive towards me? Would I have been maltreated had my gaze been apparent? What if I wasn’t dancing or if I was dressed as a “man”? What if it wasn’t in the context of “art”?