Witness Relocation / Dan Safer
NEWS Spider Rabbit returns to La MaMaUnder the Radar Festival · Jan 8–12, 2027 “a purveyor of low-fi mayhem”— Time Out New York “associe… théâtre, danse et images avec l’énergie d’un show rock”— Paris Art “a deft choreographer of chaos”— vvvide.com “rigorous physical choreography and outstanding visual intensity”— Arteidolia “raucous and joyful”— The New York Times NEWS Particles, Fields and The Voida duet with Thomas F. DeFrantz · in the studio now “Dan Safer is a master of craft.”— Culturebot “signature kinetic verve with simultaneous precision and abandon”— The Dance Enthusiast “refreshingly brilliant avant-garde hit”— Theater Is Hard “The vibe is rowdy and playfully surreal.”— The Village Voice NEWS Spider Rabbit returns to La MaMaUnder the Radar Festival · Jan 8–12, 2027 “a purveyor of low-fi mayhem”— Time Out New York “associe… théâtre, danse et images avec l’énergie d’un show rock”— Paris Art “a deft choreographer of chaos”— vvvide.com “rigorous physical choreography and outstanding visual intensity”— Arteidolia “raucous and joyful”— The New York Times NEWS Particles, Fields and The Voida duet with Thomas F. DeFrantz · in the studio now “Dan Safer is a master of craft.”— Culturebot “signature kinetic verve with simultaneous precision and abandon”— The Dance Enthusiast “refreshingly brilliant avant-garde hit”— Theater Is Hard “The vibe is rowdy and playfully surreal.”— The Village Voice
Tony Torn as Spider Rabbit, arms flung wide in a white bunny suit on a white plastic-sheeted stage

Photo by Maria Baranova

Jan 8–12, 2027 · Under the Radar at La MaMa

Spider Rabbit

Michael McClure’s “absurdist anti war gargoyle cartoon.” Starring Tony Torn. Directed by Dan Safer.

“Tony Torn kills it. But when does he not kill it?” — Tawk of New Yawk

Tickets Show site ↗
Particles, Fields and The Void: Dan Safer rushes past Thomas F. DeFrantz, whose fist is raised Retro-Active: Dan Safer hauls Ishmael Houston-Jones up by the legs under a blue spotlight Jedermann at the Salzburg Festival: a shirtless young man in red is held by figures wrapped in white gauze Spider Rabbit: Tony Torn howls upward as red confetti bursts over his white suit Five Days in March: a lone performer at the edge of a huge white floor before a tinsel curtain The Loon: two dancers tangled on an armchair as popcorn sprays from a bowl Retro-Active: Ishmael Houston-Jones sits on the floor in blue coveralls as a shirtless Dan Safer leans over his back Eterniday: a man mid star-jump, screaming, as three dancers cheer Aristotle Thinks Again: a masked man with a microphone and a dancer with arms raised before a School of Athens backdrop Vicious Dogs on Premises: dancers on a bright pink set beneath old TVs Dancing vs. The Rat Experiment: the cast huddles in a spotlight on a green floor, one dancer in a blue tutu This Ring of Fire: Dan Safer, a red mask pushed up on his head, swings a hammer over a table as Ishmael Houston-Jones watches Daily Life Everlasting: dancers on a green floor beneath a giant projected face Giant Yves Klein All Out Attack: a performer covered in blue-purple paint Haggadah: Moses in a cotton-ball beard and monster glove sings into a mic The Panic Show: dancers in white leap together in red light

Particles, Fields and The Void · Current · photo by Antonio Houston for Bates Dance Festival

Dance? Theater? Dance/Theater? Etc?

…makes shows about the fact that, when it comes down to it, you just don’t have to be an asshole.

…got kicked out of high school for a year, used to be a go-go dancer, and once choreographed the Queen of Thailand’s birthday party. He teaches dance at MIT.

Current

In the studio

Particles, Fields and The Void

A duet with Thomas F. DeFrantz. In development.

Particles, Fields and The Void: Dan Safer and Thomas F. DeFrantz locked together on the floor as an audience watches Thomas F. DeFrantz lifts Dan Safer in a full embrace Dan Safer and Thomas F. DeFrantz clasp hands in the middle of the studio as the audience watches Dan Safer leans toward the camera, fingers clawed, as Thomas F. DeFrantz moves behind him

Photos by Antonio Houston for Bates Dance Festival

Shows

WR = Witness Relocation production

Particles, Fields and The Void: Dan Safer rushes past Thomas F. DeFrantz, whose fist is raised
Particles, Fields and The Void Current · with Thomas F. DeFrantz
Spider Rabbit howling under red confetti
Spider Rabbit Current · with Tony Torn · La MaMa
…(And I Feel Fine): a dancer in floral trousers is carried horizontally across another performer’s back, in a blue-lit circle ringed by standing audience
…(And I Feel Fine) 2026 · with Christian Frederickson, Shura Baryshnikov & Justin Looper · MIT Dissolve Festival
Dan Safer, shirtless, hauls Ishmael Houston-Jones up by the legs under a blue spotlight
Retro-Active 2025 · with Ishmael Houston-Jones · music by Christian Frederickson · MIT Spatial Sound Lab, Dissolve Festival
Winning Is Winning: a large cast screams and lunges toward the camera, some sprawled across a wooden studio floor
Winning Is Winning 2025 · Hoi Polloi
A performer in a grinning rubber mask and suit, bathed in red light
Aristotle Thinks Again 2024 · Great Jones Rep · La MaMa
Family: a performer sings into a mic in a spotlight on a stage painted as an American flag, inside a chain-link enclosure, as two others raise their arms
Family 2024 · Hoi Polloi · by Celine Song · dir. Alec Duffy
Jedermann at the Salzburg Festival: a crowd in ruffles, wigs and sunflowers gathers around a shirtless man and a woman in red, who lounge in front
Jedermann 2021–23 · Salzburg Festival · dir. Michael Sturminger
Two performers in paper crowns huddle on chairs holding a candelabra on a white tiled floor WR
The History of Empires 2022 · La MaMa · text by Chuck Mee
Dom Juan: seven performers in mismatched thrift-store costumes creep forward together in a crouch under blue light
Dom Juan 2022 · Bard SummerScape · dir. Ash K. Tata
Communion: Dan Safer mid-step in black, a blurred double image of his arms and striped trousers trailing behind him
Communion 2020 · Janessa Clark · with Benoît Lachambre
Surveys the Prairie of Your Room: a performer in grey is lifted upside down over Dan Safer’s shoulders in a warehouse ringed by audience WR
Surveys the Prairie of Your Room 2019 · Invisible Dog, MIT, La MaMa Moves, Cairo
Two dancers tangled on an armchair as popcorn sprays from a bowl WR
The Loon 2016–17
A shirtless man in red face paint and suspenders spreads his arms above a pile of performers in tutus and knee pads
Ubu Sings Ubu 2014–16 · with Tony Torn · Abrons Arts Center
Dancers on a green floor beneath a giant projected face WR
Daily Life Everlasting 2014–15 · Norwegian Theater Academy
A man in a diaper mid star-jump, screaming, as three dancers cheer WR
Eterniday 2013 · La MaMa
Two dancers in red and yellow before the orchestra under hanging banners of projected flowers
Rite of Spring 2013 · Ridge Theater · Philadelphia Orchestra
A wizard in black robes and a woman in a metallic vest square off before a starburst projection
Blue Wizard Black Wizard 2013 · Incubator Arts Project
A performer covered in blue-purple paint, roaring on a painted mat WR
Giant Yves Klein All Out Attack 2012 · Exit Art
A bald man in a yellow shirt and striped tie sprawls on a red ramp
Dick Done Broke 2012 · The Bushwick Starr
A figure in a lion costume lies spread-eagled on a patterned floor as a crowd salutes in red light
All Hands 2012 · Hoi Polloi · dir. Alec Duffy
A woman in a tulle skirt tipped over a chair, lit by a fluorescent tube WR
Heaven on Earth 2011 · La MaMa, Les Subsistances (Lyon)
A performer screams beside a giant projection of her own screaming face WR
I’m Going to Make a Small Incision Behind Your Ear to Check and See If You’re Actually Human 2010 · The Bushwick Starr
A lone performer on a chair at the edge of a huge white floor WR
Five Days in March 2010 · La MaMa · by Toshiki Okada, US English-language premiere
A hooded woman with a cane stands before a projected forest as a chorus gathers around a glowing lamp
Persephone 2010 · Ridge Theater · BAM
A dancer in a petticoat and knee pads slides toward the camera, mouth open WR
The Panic Show 2009 · Dance New Amsterdam, Bumbershoot, Le Quartz (Brest)
Two men in undershirts share beers at a small table in a pool of light WR
This Ring of Fire 2009 · Dance New Amsterdam · with Ishmael Houston-Jones
Moses in a cotton-ball beard and monster glove sings into a mic WR
Haggadah 2009 · La MaMa
Performers in rat masks and lab coats raise their hands on a green floor WR
Blue Bird 2009 · CUNY Prelude Festival
Dancers in suits and party dresses on a bright pink set beneath old TVs WR
Vicious Dogs on Premises 2008 · Fuse Box, Chaillot (Paris), A.R.T., and on tour
A man in a ruffled blue shirt dips a dancer in a peach tutu WR
Dancing vs. The Rat Experiment 2006

About

Bodies pushed past tired. Small spectacles built in plain sight. Jokes that go on too long and turn into something else. Jokes that come from somewhere that isn’t funny at all. These shows are about the damage people do to each other and the damage they carry. They are also a reason to be in a room together. If you’ve never felt like you belonged, dancing with other people who feel the same might get you close.

Witness Relocation formed in 2000 and is a resident company at La MaMa. Three New York Innovative Theater Awards. Shows in New York, Paris, Lyon, Poland, Russia, Romania, Canada, Egypt, Abu Dhabi, and Thailand.

Dan Safer, black-and-white portrait, looking sideways at the camera Photo: Maria Baranova

Dan Safer

Dan Safer got kicked out of high school for a year, used to be a go-go dancer, and once choreographed the Queen of Thailand’s birthday party. He is Artistic Director of Witness Relocation and directs and choreographs all of the shows. He is Senior Lecturer and Director of Dance at MIT.

Teaching

Dan Safer is Senior Lecturer and Director of Dance at MIT. Before that he taught at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for twenty years. He has taught workshops and master classes all over the world.

Has taught at

MIT NYU Tisch School of the Arts Princeton University Columbia University King’s College London NYU Abu Dhabi Norwegian Theater Academy Naropa University The New School Concrete Immersive (co-director) Hampshire College Swarthmore College Colorado College University of Copenhagen University of New Mexico Queensland Theatre Company La MaMa Umbria Patravadi Theater, Bangkok Dhurakijpundit University Cambodian Royal Academy of Fine Arts Australian Circus & Physical Theatre Association Open Look Festival, St. Petersburg Bates Dance Festival Bytom International Dance Festival Man.In.Fest, Cluj-Napoca Dance New Amsterdam Tricklock Theater Company Etc.