In Motion. In Time. Killian Manning Presents “The Partial Figure/The Body Complete”

Created in dialogue with the NCMA exhibition Partial Figure, this original performance investigates the tension between what is seen and what is withheld. Choreographer Killian Manning approaches the work as a cypher, an interpretive key that explores how fragments, gestures, and glimpses of the body can evoke a fuller emotional and narrative truth.

Using the exhibition’s central question—what does the partial suggest about the whole?—the choreography draws inspiration from artworks spanning ancient Greek sculpture to modern photography, including pieces by Rodin, Degas, Picasso, Eudora Welty, and more.

The performance becomes a living extension of the gallery experience, offering audiences a chance to feel how the body, even in part, can be a powerful vessel for memory, mystery, and meaning.

About In Motion. In Time.
Partnering with local and regional university and community choreographers and dance ensembles, the NCMA presents original, commissioned dance performances in concert with exhibitions. Interpreting each show, these performances create new entry points for audiences to engage with exhibitions—through the language of dance.

Support for In Motion. In Time. provided by Dawn F. Lipson.

Image: (left) Auguste Rodin, The Cathedral, modeled 1908, Musée Rodin cast 1955, bronze, H. 25 1/4 × W. 12 3/4 × D. 13 1/2 in., Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation; (right) Courtesy of Killian Manning