Ryan McNamara – MEƎM 4 Miami: A Story Ballet About the Internet

The performance presents an interpretation of the layered architecture of the internet and the infinite streams of information that pour through its portals onto our laptops and smart phones.

Exploring how we share content and process information, Ryan McNamara (b. 1979, Phoenix) samples and remixes music – from Hip Hop to Martha Graham, jazz and classical ballet – and movement within an inventively staged environment that reflects the dense layers of our digital landscape. The ballet engages multiple narratives – the internet as a utopic space of unfettered and open global communication and self-creation, as sinister military infrastructure, and as motor for a round-the-clock infotainment culture.

Created as a Performa Commission for the 2013 Performa Biennial in New York City, the work was awarded the second Malcolm McLaren Award as the most innovative and thought-provoking performance of Performa 13. For its Miami Beach premiere, the artist will debut a new and expanded iteration, incorporating additional performers and content.

Production support in Miami has been provided through a partnership with YoungArts.