Charles Dennis embodied the spirit of P.S. 122. He brought the “we can do anything,” “take a chance,” Do It Yourself ethos of the space – his sense of fairness, community, and embrace of innovation shaped the activities of the space and made it a home for artists of all disciplines. A core member of Robert Wilson’s Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds, he was featured in many of Wilson’s early works and was in the original cast of “Einstein on the Beach”. After his time with Wilson, Charles joined Charles Moulton, Tim Miller, Gabrielle Lansner, and Peter Rose to occupy P.S. 122.
Charles brought events such as Open Movement and Avant-Garde Arama to this new space in an abandoned school in the East Village. Those projects became the backbone of the spaces’s activities for many years. Open Movement was an improvisational gathering each week for the dance and performance community . Avant-Garde-Arama was a shared multimedia mini-festival that introduced countless artists to the space and its audience. AGA also influenced the format for P.S. 122’s legendary three-day benefits and its traveling program, P.S. 122 Field Trips.
A natural mover, Charles was always creating his own performances and films. Later in his career, Charles focused on melding video into his performances and documenting many productions at P.S. 122. His “Alive and Kicking” video series was a touchstone of work going on at the space. Dennis and his wife, Mona Banzer, moved upstate before the pandemic, where Charles recently revived the Avant Garde Arama program for the community around Kingston, New York.
Artists relied on Charles great sense of humor and sportsmanship, his connection to nature, and his natural instincts for dance and performance. He loved New York and the East Village, always excited to see good work and new ideas, generously sharing that passion with anyone who would listen.
Charles Dennis was a friend and mentor to many involved with P.S. 122. He had an incredible, lasting impact on Performance Space 122. It would not have had its energy, adventurousness, inclusivity, or punk wildness without him.