Quarters (2010) In this improvised dance theatre work, the performers take a tumultuous ride down a path that includes a dynamic business meeting at “headquarters”, a drinking game, a virtual walk through the French Quarter, and a late evening once we’ve run out of money. Based on a simple word association game, Quarters highlights some of society’s stereotypes and then amplifies what may be considered as “normal” human behavior.  However, what is real maybe more difficult to fathom than something fantastical.

Double Entendre Tooth Tiger (2010) grapples with the issues of Evolution and Creationism. To pursue individual freedom of expression, this work releases the constrictive rules and conventions of traditional dance forms. Without specific codes often perceived in dance, the audience is also free to interpret what is meaningful or truthful from their own perspective. The addition of contemporary film projection and musical accompaniment establishes the work’s multi-media aesthetic. This provocative dance theatre production does not intend to make a statement about what is wrong or right, but does aim to challenge the viewpoints of two opposing sides.

Sensitive Boys (2009) emphasizes the nature and aesthetic of men that show vulnerability.  Along with his usual style of improvisation, Chard focuses on the emotional attributes of both men and women in this dreamscape.  The cast of 8  dancers perform with video projections by Elektrik Zoo and music composed by Chris Getz and Mike Rihner.  As a work in progress, Sensitive Boys has been performed at the Blue Nile and at the Sidearm Gallery in New Orleans.  The completed work premiered at the 2009 New Orleans Fringe Festival at the Michalopoulos Studio on Elysian Fields.  Sensitive Boys received a Big Easy Classical Arts Award for Best Modern Dance Presentation of 2009.

ATAWii (2009) is a collaborative dance/film work in progress conceived by Chard Gonzalez, Daneeta Saft and Patrick Jackson. Their objective is to explore the integration of performance with recorded and live video projection. Rather than using video as a background to a performance, the piece is choreographed as a dialogue between the two mediums. Thus, the viewer’s focus is directed toward the interplay between performer and video.  The theme, based on video games, emphasizes the particular relationship between the player and the game. The dynamics of the performer’s movement will determine the specific cinematographic effects that are manipulated by the film artists in real time. In a reversal of roles, the video will also be embedded with visual cues for the performer to respond to.

me-lo-de (2009) is based on themes of memory, longing and decay.  As an attempt to reveal behavioral patterns through the beginning stages of dementia, Chard uses layers of improvisation (including structured and non-structured tasks).   In his methodology, Chard interprets Mary Overlie’s “Six Viewpoints” to develop a performance which deconstructs any preconceived notions of compositional hierarchy.

and/or (2008)is a culmination of movement, sounds and images where six performers respond to Jana Napoli’s Floodwall on the theme of “decision making”.  Inspired by Mary Overlie’s conception of “Six Viewpoints: a deconstructive approach to theater”, Chard’s structured improvisation aims to project an authenticity of human experience.  This 45-minute performance invites the audience to recall their own experiences of having to make decisions.