Wookey has studied with, been advised by, and co-taught with choreographer and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer. In 2010 Wookey became one of eight dance artists certified by Rainer to stage/transmit and perform her iconic work “Trio A” (1966). Since then, Wookey has staged the work at international venues including, most recently, Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin (September 2024) as part of Berlin Arts Week and at Tate Modern (July 2026). The event was supported by Van Cleef and Arpels and Wookey worked closely with Rosalie Doubal, Curator of Performance and Participation at Tate and Martin Hargreaves, Director of the Rose Choreographic School. The event included a public talk with Rainer and long-time transmitter and dancer/choreographer Pat Catterson. The work received outstanding reviews in The Guardian, The Observer, and Fjord Magazine with a preview feature in Dance Magazine.
In 2024 Wookey was invited by Ula Sniegowska, Artistic Director of the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland to stage “M-Walk – (Street Action)” (1970) by Rainer, working with local dancers as part of the New Horizon Festival in which Rainer’s films were being featured.
As a dancer Wookey has performed with Rainer a version of Trio A that Rainer titled Trio A: Pressured Reversed and Revisited in 2014 at the “Dancing with the Art World” symposium at the Hammer Museum. And as part of Yvonne Rainer: Dance Works at Raven Row gallery in London (2014), Wookey performed in other works of Rainer’s (staged by Rainer and Catterson) including “Diagonal (part of Terrain)” (1963), “Chair Pillow” (1969), and “Talking Solo (part of Terrain)” (1963).
What brought me to work with Yvonne?
What has brought me to work with Yvonne as one of her transmitters of Trio A (1966) is my love of her work, belief in its legacy as an ongoing influence on dance today. My interest in experimental dance, expanded choreographic practice and socio-political aspects of the form are also what motivates me to share the work more widely with dancers, dance enthusiasts and those interested in democratic choreographic practice.
I studied with Yvonne at the University of California, Los Angeles where I also became her assistant in 2010. Yvonne served as one of my Master of Fine Art advisors at the University of California, Los Angeles from 2010-2014, along with the late urbanist Edward Soja and choreographer Dan Froot. I went on to continue a collegial friendship with Yvonne and I am in touch with her in regards to my custodial work with her legacy project.
What dances do I transmit?
I am certified by Yvonne to transmit Trio A (1966).
What do I offer?
I transmit parts of or the whole dance (Trio A) to trained dancers through a series of rehearsals for educational exercises that may lead to a public performance by participants. It is required that dancers have professional dance training in order to perform Trio A.
‘Dance is hard to see’ – a public talk about transmission, dance in the museum and the conservation of live performance
Yvonne Rainer claims ‘dance is hard to see’ writes Carrie Lambert Beatty in her book Being Watched. Yvonne Rainer and the 1960s (2008). This statement is a jumping off point for my talk about working with Yvonne and becoming one of seven dancers certified by her to transmit her signature work Trio A (1966). In unpacking the idea that dance is ‘hard to see’ I examine the roles of bodily and verbal transmission, methods of remembering and material pedagogical tools in the desire for preservation and sustainability of a dance. By doing so I trace lines of influence from Yvonne’s work to my own practice and research on dance in the museum, regarding dance as a social-spatial-temporal experience that has impact on institutional change and is of interest to collectors, archivists, and conservators.
What are the conditions?
Licence and documentation agreements, including royalty and transmission fees, are settled with Yvonne’s representatives. Please get in touch with me to start that process.
How do I transmit?
I have developed methods for transmitting Trio A (1966) to trained dancers that includes a warm up preparing the body for the rigorous learning process. The transmission time is spread across 1-6 days (30 -50 hours for Trio A), depending on if the work will be performed or is for learning purposes only, and engages layers of information and the language Yvonne uses to describe the movements, such as ‘rock on the end of a string’. These layers include movement, spacing, pacing and gaze.
What does it bring?
What it can bring to others who experience it is a connection to the work in an experiential way and through living oral history. The process includes physical and cognitive experiences such as learning movement phrases in which 2-3 actions are happening in the body at once that are unrelated. It is a way to get in touch with a significant part of dance history through learning, doing and experiencing it directly. It also offers an experience of equitable working models in which collective decision making, co-leadership and democratic approaches are referenced.
Who would benefit?
It is important to Yvonne that only trained dancers perform Trio A (1966). Others may be invited to observe the transmission process including those who are interested in Yvonne’s work, who have a passion for dance and choreographic practices such as dancers, choreographers and dance scholars. Others who may benefit from access to the transmission process include art historians, conservators, visual artists, performance artists and film scholars who are familiar with Yvonne’s work but may not have experience or deep knowledge of her dance work. And, of course, anyone with an interest in artwork from the 1960s & 70s New York scene and/or Judson Dance Theater and those that also have interest or engagement with socio-political histories, art and politics.
What it contributes to
Learning Trio A (1966) contributes to an ongoing thread of enquiry and development of Yvonne’s legacy and the legacy of dance and arts in general. It is part of an oral history tradition in dance that has meaning beyond the sector. The work aims to be inclusive to anyone interested to take part – either as a trained dancer or as an observer – in the transmission process.
Contact
If you are interested in learning more contact me at info@sarawookey.com or through the button below.
Previous venues and communities include Tate Modern London, Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, Autobody, Dance House Sydney, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), Yale University Singapore, National Gallery of Victoria, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, Hammer Museum, Chisenhale Dance Space, Corali.