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# A Weeklong Performance Festival Devoted to Surprise
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/a-weeklong-performance-festival-devoted-to-surprise/
- Published: 2017-06-02T17:26:18.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:12:24.000Z
- Description: From dance and stand-up comedy to rap and performance art, Movement Research's spring festival — titled "surprise! surprise(!) surprise/! surprise" — offers a bit of everything from an impressive range of performers.
- Author: Benjamin Sutton
- Tags: Art, Events, Miguel Gutierrez, Narcissister, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:23 (2016, 2017, part 2)

![Lucy Sexton (photo by Paula Court)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/06/mr-lucy-sexton-factress.jpg)

Lucy Sexton (photo by Paula Court)

It’s challenging to encapsulate the eclecticism of Movement Research’s [2017 spring performance festival](https://movementresearch.org/festivals/spring2017?ref=hyperallergic.com), but co-curators Laurie Berg, Monstah Black, and Amy Khoshbin get at its core in their curatorial statement, which reads in part: “This place where movement blends with humor, sound paints the landscape, and visuals twist the mind into … surprise!” The festival’s title and theme, perhaps unsurprisingly, is “surprise! surprise(!) surprise/! surprise.” In addition to a [festival-long exhibition](https://movementresearch.org/event/5487?ref=hyperallergic.com) of performance videos at Howl! Happening, nightly screenings, parties, and events will occur across the festival’s three venues in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Jersey City.

![Dai Burger (photo courtesy Dai Burger)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/06/mr-dai-burger.jpg)

Dai Burger (photo courtesy Dai Burger)

The program for Saturday, June 3, at Mana Contemporary promises plenty of unexpected delights, with female rapper [Dai Burger](https://soundcloud.com/daiburger?ref=hyperallergic.com) and experimental hip-hop artist [LSDXOXO](http://lsdxoxo.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) headlining an evening of performances at Mana Contemporary titled “[Vertigo](https://www.facebook.com/events/1940241896208039).” Before they take the stage, choreographer [Jasmine Hearn](https://movementresearch.org/people/jasmine-hearn?ref=hyperallergic.com), recording artist and DJ [Manchildblack](https://soundcloud.com/manchildblack?ref=hyperallergic.com), movement duos [Brother(hood) Dance!](https://www.bhooddance.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) and [BS Movement](https://www.bsmovement.co/floyd?ref=hyperallergic.com), and many more will perform throughout the Mana space.

Those who think that the art world takes itself a tad too seriously are in for a treat on the night of Monday, June 5, when Howl! hosts an evening of stand-up comedy cheekily titled “[Pull It Sur Prize](https://movementresearch.org/event/5494?ref=hyperallergic.com).” The night’s lineup includes choreographer [Miguel Gutierrez](http://www.miguelgutierrez.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com), performer and musician [Madison Krekel](https://movementresearch.org/people/madison-krekel?ref=hyperallergic.com), and multidisciplinary artist [Jennifer Sullivan](http://jennifersullivan.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com), among others.

The festival ends on a high note with [a double bill](https://movementresearch.org/event/5495?ref=hyperallergic.com) of performance artists [Narcissister](http://www.narcissister.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) and [Lucy Sexton](https://movementresearch.org/people/lucy-sexton?ref=hyperallergic.com) on Tuesday, June 6 at Howl!. Both will do their part to prepare and empower the audience to overcome the surprises that lay ahead in our dark and difficult times.

![Jasmine Hearn (photo by Scott Shaw)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/06/mr-jasmine-hearn.jpg)

Jasmine Hearn (photo by Scott Shaw)

**When:** through Tuesday, June 6; schedule varies daily  
**Where:** [Howl! Happening](https://www.howlarts.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com) (6 East First Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan), [C’mon Everybody](http://www.cmoneverybody.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) (325 Franklin Avenue, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn), and [Mana Contemporary](http://manacontemporary.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) (888 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey)

*More info* [*here*](https://movementresearch.org/festivals/spring2017?ref=hyperallergic.com)*.*