Last updated on March 15, 2022
The Bipeds is a dance and music troupe headed by Stacy Wolfson and Curtis Eller. Eller’s “Bury the Light,” recorded at Studio 808A and produced by Joseph DeJarnette, is the musical part of the Bipeds’ latest project.
Eller’s banjo and Wolfson’s crystal clear vocals contrast perfectly with the darkness and despair of the visuals. Compositionally nuanced, each instrument harmonizes with the choreography. Joseph DeJarnette (upright bass) and Jack Fleishman (drums) deliver solid backline vibrations. The piece feels like Charlie Chaplin slipping towards film noir, a battle between dark and light (but not simply dark and light), the convergence of visual and sonic experience.
Stacy Wolfson’s choreography pulses with each beat. The kaleidoscopic visuals might make the watcher think Esther Williams met The Big Lebowski. Eller and Wolfson have conceived a video whose story tells one we all feel. There is magic here, like nothing I’ve experienced in quite some time.
The credits are long for this collaborative project: Jim Haverkamp, Alex Maness, Curtis Eller, and Stacy Wolfson pulled off the detailed production, with Alex Maness as director of photography. Charles Bartee, Hugh Crumley, Steve Cowles, Daisy Eller, Curtis Eller, Anastasia Maddox, Jamie B. Wolcott, Joseph DeJarnette, A’yen Tran, Stacy Wolfson, and Shadow the cat are credited on vocals. Movement creation is by William Commander, Curtis Eller, Jessi Knight, Tatiana Phillips, Michael Rank, and Stacy Wolfson. Editor Jim Haverkamp helped bring the vision to life.
Artistic expression creates emotions. Art creates connections to what we see and hear, processed as a shared experience. Right now, we have no shared experience of live theater or musical performance. But we have this. I cried, realizing the weight of this year, the loss of live performance, culture, and community while watching “Bury the Light” for the first time. Art helps us scream, even through the tears.–Lisa Whealy