In this conversation, I speak with Noa Rui-Piin Weiss and Miranda Brown ahead of their work-in-progress showing of ¿¡¡simon negs≈≈>:(:{{**, which was presented at the Exponential Festival in January 2025. This was a partner piece to their earlier work, !!simon says~~!:));)$$, which they presented in 2024.

In both works, an unnamed character (presumably, Simon) communicates with them through text instructions displayed on a screen, commanding them to dance in unison, touch the ceiling, dissociate, glisten, torture, even kill. Their attempts to fulfill these tasks (they always try, even as they search for loopholes) is what makes up both iterations of this work.

We are all interested in impossible tasks. My doctoral research uses this idea to study how improvisational dance practices interface with neocolonial and capitalist logics, and how conceptions of possibility get negotiated among choreographers, dancers, and audiences. Noa and Miranda are deploying impossible tasks to craft a choreographed commentary on systems of command, inside and outside of the field of dance. This shared interest led to a conversation about authority, agency, embarrassment, and more.

Read the interview here.