1963
August 6. Concert of Dance No. 11. Gramercy Arts Theatre. Ensemble: MN, Philip Corner, Harry Diakoff, Malcolm Goldstein, Annette Mendel, Dorthy Moskoowitz. Work(s): Joseph Byrd, Animals (1961). N.B. Music for dance by Susan Kaufman, Animals (1963). Organized by Herbert Semmel. See Judson Memorial Church Archive. Box 3, Folder 42.
On August 6, 1963, Max Neuhaus participated in Concert of Dance No. 11 at the Gramercy Arts Theatre, a pivotal event documenting the migration of the Judson Dance Theater from its church home to a commercial Off-Broadway space.
The ensemble performed Joseph Byrd’s Animals (1961), a core text of the early 1960s avant-garde.
This musical realization provided the sonic environment for Susan Kaufman’s dance piece, also titled Animals (1963).
Neuhaus performed alongside a "who's who" of the Tone Roads and Fluxus circles, including Philip Corner, Malcolm Goldstein, and Dorothy Moskowitz.
Fales Library Archive: Specific records, including the original program and rehearsal notes, are held in the Judson Memorial Church Archive (Box 3, Folder 42) at New York University.
The "Effervescent Body": In Greenwich Village 1963, Sally Banes cites this performance as an example of how the "physical presence" of the musicians—their labor and movement—was as much a part of the dance as the choreography itself.
The event was organized by Herbert Semmel, a key figure who provided the legal and administrative backbone for the Judson experimentalists.
This concert occurred just weeks before Neuhaus’s heavy involvement in the First Annual New York Avant-Garde Festival later that August.