Film: The Decker Fall (1984-2012)

Julia K. Gleich’s choreography bridges gaps between traditional ballet form and the conceptuality of post-modern dance. Accomplished on many artistic fronts, her video sketches, much like her choreography, play off time, distance, and memory. In The Decker Fall, Gleich reclaims a moment of choreography where Zola Budd and Mary Decker collide in the 1984 Olympics. Decker’s fall fueled controversy, shattered the dreams of both women, and garnered attention for women athletes as ambitious and ruthless competitors. At 4:58.4, a fall becomes theater.

This work was first exhibited in To Be A Lady: an exhibition of historic, mid-career, and emerging women artists, UBS Art Gallery, New York, NY, September 24, 2012-March 21, 2013