Two Performances at WAREHOUSE at Geffen Contemporary: 11am and 3pm The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is pleased to present the U.S. premiere of artists and choreographers Gerard & Kelly’s State of (2019). Previously performed in Portugal and France, for this iteration the duo uses the WAREHOUSE space in The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA to open up questions around national symbols and entangled identities though the language of pole dancing. The work is a collaboration with Forty Smooth, an innovator of pole dancing in the New York City subways, and dancer/vocalist Quenton Stuckey. The costume design is created by Rio Uribe of Gypsy Sport, the non-binary clothing brand noted by their deconstructed designs made locally from sustainable materials. State of floats the question of American identity through various citations and transformations of the U.S. flag and the national anthem. Moving on and off the pole; boosting, raising and resting the flag; and singing and re-singing the national anthem, three dancers interrogate symbols of nationalism, emptying them of their violence and exploring how they might be reclaimed today. Working together since 2003, Gerard & Kelly create installations and performances encompassing influences in minimalist dance, institutional critique, and queer theory. A second performance of State of by Gerard & Kelly will take place at 3pm, following the first 11:30am presentation. Additional information: Concept and choreography: Gerard & Kelly Performance: Ryan Kelly, Forty Smooth, and Quenton Stuckey Pole dance instructor: Roz “The Diva” Mays Costume design: Rio Uribe / Gypsy Sport Lighting design: Chu Hsuan Chang Production: Gerard & Kelly Foundation Production manager: Sheridan Telford