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(1997, Duet, 13 minutes)

“My Father…has to do with negotiating distance, both internally and externally. It is filled with the sense a small child has when looking up at her father or father figure and seeing how huge he appears, and trying to keep apace with his stride while walking down the street together. The dancers are trying to find this sense, or memory in their bodies and to close the distance between the great and the minute.” – Keely Garfield

Small and incidental encounters overlap extended passages of lucid dancing, creating a collage of athletically inclined and emotionally charged portraits. In duets, trios and group sequences, dancers impart their essence, imprinting scent and sense, before finally taking leave of one another. A selection of evocative songs ranging from popular World War tunes to jazz standards to sixties classics provide a sub-text for the dance.

Anchors away and here we go,
underdogs in undertow.
Surface with no sight of land,
underfoot and underhand.
–Keely Garfield

“Distinguishes itself with subtlety and style, a marvel of timing and wry human observation.” The Village Voice

“The seams are invisible, Garfield achieves a beautiful gripping image of dependant childhood without any syrupy sentimentality.” The Dance Insider

Premiere: Danse Vernissage/Studio 303 (Montréal), October 25, 1997
Made possible with funds from The Harkness Foundation for Dance.