Zumba and Goliath was an exhibition (co-curated with Dylan Statham) at Techno Park Gallery in Williamstown, from May 22 — June 8 2010. Our predominant jumping-off point was the upstart Latin dance-inspired fitness program, Zumba. Are aerobics trends a bellwether for (or tail-end of) ‘super reduced’ cultural exchange? [Or: Do participating artists read the onesheet when invited to a group show?]

Some highlights: Ben Coonley’s Valentine for Perfect Strangers, as perfect a video that Youtube could serve, by itself in an internal room with a knockoff Barcelona, so it’s almost like a dating agency viewing room. [Meaning to] hit plum pips (not in season) into the Williamstown River with Nick Selenitsch’s square neo-geo badminton racquet. Holly’s HSC certificate, in a bottle, on a necklace, ready to wear.

In 1986, Perez forgot his tape of aerobics music for a class he was teaching. He took the tapes he had in his backpack—consisting of traditional Latin salsa and merengue music—and improvised a class using this non-traditional aerobics music.
– Origins of Zumba

// see the sub-site for photographs of the exhibition