Doug Elkins's
Favorite Things
The Sound of Music
My first memory of going to the
movies is going to see The Sound
of Music. I was four or five. It was
fascinating, seeing something on
a very large screen where people
would just break out into song. I
know this is a real cognitive leap,
but you can read The Sound
of Music as being about the
nature of art. Maria is a trickster
character. She doesn't fit into the
structure of the abbey and,
ironically, she is sent to an even
more rigid place. She walks into a
wounded family that is missing a
matriarch, with a father who tries to
run it like a ship. How does
she help heal this family?
By teaching them how
to put on little shows.
Doug Elkins is a two-time New York Dance and Performance (Bessie)
Award-winning choreographer and 2012 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial
Foundation Creative Arts Fellow. He also self-identifies as a man with
" a promiscuous attention span." These are a few of his favorite things.
46 www.peakperfs.org
Doug Elkins
Photo: Christopher Duggan
