ABSTRACT
Short and short-legged at the time when George Balanchine established a contrary physique as ideal for American dancers, Monk was the sort of dancer who, unlikely to perform with others, necessarily created pieces for herself. They were middling in quality until she
suddenly got better, much better, as sometimes happens with ambitious young artists. The crucial work establishing her greater presence was 16 Millimetre Earrings (1966), in which she not only performed but also incorporated film footage that she had produced and audiotape likewise of her own creation. Her work has since continued to be on a higher plane. In 1968, she formed a multimedia production company called the House, which provided her with a fairly stable company of performers through the 1970s. Even then, I remember, she conducted herself with a self-confidence based upon genuine achievement.
