Six Feet

Dancer flying through the air

Choreography: Eloy Barragán

Music: Brendan Hanks and Pieta Brown (original score for this work)

Costume Designer: Margaret Wenk-Kuchlbauer

Lighting Designer: Jim Albert

Film: Directed and edited by Eloy Barragán

Cinematography: Eloy Barragán and the Office of Strategic Communication

Dancers: Alyssa Alber, Kara Bouck, Sidney Cowles, Darrius Gray, Emmalee Hallinan, Kristen Lowe, Katie Phelan, Carson Simpson, Emily Trapnell

Six Feet
Is an introspection of what has happened to everyone.  
6 feet distance, a barrier on space, on time.  
Can we exist or disappear between 6 feet?  
We will not disappear, we will prevail,  
through empathy and kindness.

Collaborating with these dancers and musicians/composers was an experience that was motivating and inspiring.

Special thanks to Brendan Hanks and Pieta Brown, offering their beautiful collaboration and amazing original score.

Eloy Barragán headshot

Eloy Barragán MFA – Hollins University
Associate Professor at the University of Iowa  
Director/Founder of the International Iowa ScreenDance Festival
Co-Director of the Iowa Dance Festival

Eloy has received a choreographers’ fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Boise Arts Council, as well as a Lifetime Career Fellowship by the Idaho Commission of the Arts. This year he received an Artist Project Grant from Iowa Arts Council. His choreography has been presented at the Bolshoi Theatre, Finnish National Opera House, Conservatoire de Paris – Cité de la Musique, Alvin Ailey Studios Citigroup Theater, DiCapo Opera Theater NYC, Teatro Nacional de Panamá, and Ballet Real de Costa Rica. His films have been invited to festivals in Mexico, USA, Stockholm, and Cuba. Eloy trained at La Escuela Nacional de Danza in Mexicó, Royal Academy of Dance UK, Boston Ballet, and the Joffrey Ballet in New York. He performed with Joffrey II, Washington Ballet, Compañía Nacional de Danza Mexicó, Ballet Royal de Wallonie, Mainz Stattheater, Hagen Stattheater, Ballet de Monterey, Eugene Ballet and Ballet Idaho. He is also the Director/Founder of the International Iowa ScreenDance Festival, Co-Director of the Iowa Dance Festival.

Pieta Brown headshot

Hailed as a, "self-styled poetess, folk goddess and country waif," by the BBC, Pieta Brown first came to international prominence with the release of her self-titled debut in 2002. Over the course of the ensuing decade-and-a-half, she’s gone on to tour the US and Europe extensively and release another seven critically lauded records, prompting NPR to applaud her, "moody, ethereal," songwriting, and The New York Times to praise her, “sweet, smoky voice.”  

Perhaps even more importantly for an artist as fiercely independent as Brown, her work continues to garner praise and support from a wide array of peers and mentors, including legendary producer Don Was, filmmaker Wim Wenders, and Bon Iver mastermind Justin Vernon, who called Brown’s 2014 album Paradise Outlaw his, “favorite recording made at our studio.” In addition to the mountain of acclaim, Brown’s music has also earned her co-writes with the likes of Iris Dement, Amos Lee, and Calexico; tour dates with an astonishing array of artists, including John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Emmylou Harris, JJ Cale, Neko Case, Richard Thompson, Ani DiFranco, and Mavis Staples; and festival slots everywhere from Bonnaroo to Mountain Jam.

Brendan Hanks headshot

Brendan Hanks is an Iowa City electronic artist that has been making music for 15 years. His three albums oscillate between fractured takes on techno and moody, meditative experimental compositions. His work is full of sodium vapor-lit textures and propulsive arcs. Previous dance collaborations include works with UI Dance Professor Eloy Barragán, the 2019 UI Dance BFA graduates, and UI Dance alumna Angelia Mahaney.