Dance For Punks Issue #27

Members of Leg and Pants Dans Theeatre showcase underground dance in a collection of short films

By Amber Drea
Published: March 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

When one thinks of the indie music scene, modern dance usually isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Katie Eastburn, Jane Paik, and Lindsay Beamish formed Leg and Pants Dans Theeatre to change that. Having grown up surrounded by punk bands, these three like-minded individuals wanted to bring dance to an audience of their peers in an accessible and artistically valid way. They also felt alienated from traditional dance companies, which tend to be all encompassing, leaving little room for other interests, such as acting, music, and film.

Starter Set (Kill Rock Stars) fuses all four media — dance, theater, music, and film — into one compilation. Curated by Eastburn, the DVD collects seven eclectic and creative collaborations from a variety of choreographers, directors, and musicians, including members of Hysteria Dance Company, the ViBe Theater Experience, Liars, and Young People.

Despite their many talents, Eastburn, Beamish, and Paik were each drawn to dance again and again. “There’s just something so immediate about it,” says Beamish, who plays a dominatrix in James Cameron Mitchell’s upcoming film Short Bus. “Even though what I do tends to have a lot of other elements going on, on the basic level, it just comes straight out of your body.”

Paik sees being a dancer in the punk community as a challenge. “I was really frustrated. It’s hard to get any kind of acknowledgement,” she says. “I feel like the kind of thing we’re doing right now is what punk was initially. It’s out of what has been traditionally known and it’s doing it your way.”

With the current state of the world, one can only wonder how relevant any of it is. “All the time I struggle with what the fuck? Why does anything matter?” Eastburn says. “The only thing I can think of is no matter whether you’re watching it or doing it, [dance] just feels good. The most that any art form can ask is that it provokes something, and I personally would like to provoke joy.”