How I love being in the studio! Rehearsal, whether Iʻm dancing or creating, is such an amazing place to be. A great continued rehearsal adding dancers in for section 2 of Drive. More dancers will be added in once the semester starts...but its amazing to see the pieces fall into place and the outline of the work out there! The new section adds a different feel to the piece...now shifting the first section to a much lighter version than originally intended. Gritty, subtle gestures, and athleticism...starting to become evident in their movement and will become second nature soon. I love watching the growth and the process of settling into the movement. I also love that they challenge me to challenge them! As the end of the semester came so quickly, it was great for the dancers to finally show all of their hard work. Last Change to Dance provided an opportunity for student choreographers to show their works in progress on a formal stage, in an informal manner. My newest piece Drive also performed. From the studio to the stage is always an adjustment, especially when its a stage as large as this one. The glory about a work in progress is that there is still time and opportunity for the piece to settle in, expand, grow, and become a richer fuller piece. I found our rough tech run as I am preparing the second section for upcoming performances - one at WKU and another with Movement Collective in Louisville. How video allows us to explore the growing pains as the piece becomes a whole! With the variety of performance locations and choreographic stages this piece will go through, it will be a wonderful way to document Drive for Practice as Research. Being in new places, meeting new dancers, finding new inspirations....always a great start to creating new choreography. Iʻm currently working on my first piece with the dancers at WKU. When you begin, thereʻs always excitement and nervousness...then the frustration to get your point across, have them understand and dive in, and will the idea come to fruition. Then you reach that point of the first run where everyone is speaking the same language! Its a magical thing! That is what is so incredible about the process of rehearsals and creating work. These dancers are doing an amazing job....and I canʻt wait to see where they take this new piece! As a spring semester has come to a close, I go back and revisit work that I have done through the year. My first year at Anderson University presented many amazing opportunities, challenges, learning experiences, and opportunities to create. I choreographed a piece for the annual Spring Into Dance concert. I titled this piece 'Dusk to Dawn', as I was commuting a great distance each day I taught. I saw the sun rise, I saw the sun set, and the beautiful haunting colors the sky created as I went on my journey. This piece was to summarize how these different points of the day present moments that are very similar, yet eerily different. "We" are all on the road together, yet we are quite independent and alone. "We" reflect on our day as we begin (Dawn) and reflect on our day as it comes to a close (Dusk). "We" shuffle through sometimes sleepy, preoccupied, distracted, engaged, and with random connections. It was wonderful to be able to take my dancers on the journey with me through this piece. I continued to talk to them about the trials and tribulations of the commute, what this piece was based on, the mood, energy, and driving force of the choreography. I also continued to take pictures of these moments alone while in my car. They magically responded with taking many images of their own during their travels. Currently working on a project with Convergence Dance Theatre for their upcoming Oahu Fringe Festival performance. A dance film that I created on the company was the initial start of the new work. To help carry this media through the evening work, I have been sent still images, concept ideas, and a whole lot of freedom to create! It has been an interesting and challenging project to build media projection for work that has not been created, as well as movement that has already been set that I have never seen. Fringe Festivals have the feel and understanding that work is new, experimental, and an opportunity to develop a piece. Working through phone calls, emails, and Google Drive, I sit here and create.... I am currently creating my last portion of the evening 'In Flux' work. This section has captured a movement phrase in a variety of locations of the company members both near and far. It will be composed to create a 'conversation' of the dancers in different places: San Diego water side, Illinois snow storm, Hawaii eastside beach, Pennsylvania park path, and Hawaii Chinatown. Sitting here now I think about how I develop the film......realizing that through dance we are all connected! This last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to work with the beautiful dancers of SUNY Buffalo again. The Zodiaque Dance Company will be having another concert for the Spring Semester. I had been contacted about having my piece 'Inside These Walls' perform again, which was an amazing honor. An added bonus was being asked to add a third section to this piece through Skype! It was so exciting to be able to see my dancers again, in addition to seeing a piece that I love, perform once again. We finished the third section in 2 sessions; in about 3 hours total. The dancers did an amazing job of taking my ideas and thoughts and making them come to life. Another amazing process of creating to add to the list....showing that anything is possible! As the initial UB Zodiaque Dance Concert came to a close, I had the pleasure of returning to see the final work perform onstage. The piece was more than I had imagined; as the dancers and faculty mentors continued to develop the integrity and atmosphere of the piece. So thankful for all of their hard work! It warms my heart to see photos capturing this piece during the tech rehearsals. I am beyond thrilled to be asked to continue this piece as rep for their Spring Zod concert. I will be developing a third section and setting the work through Skype. What an amazing honor to be asked to present my work again as well as having the opportunity to add on and advance my technology research! Can't wait for Inside These Walls to continue.... When I was asked to return to Buffalo to set a piece on the Zodiaque Dance Company, I could barely contain my excitement, ideas, and visions. What an honor to be able to return to my undergrad, SUNY Buffalo, and have an opportunity to teach master classes and set a vision on an extremely talented group of dancers. The biggest question was where to begin. In such a short amount of time; arriving on Thursday, setting choreography on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, how does this happen? Yes, I have set choreography in a small window before...but a concert such as this was a different experience with larger expectations. As I had found a piece of music that I had been listening to over and over again, I realized where I should begin. Resetting and expanding on the Inside These Walls solo was a vision that I was excited about. I truly enjoyed creating and performing that solo. The short story of The Yellow Wallpaper continued to be intriguing and stirred up emotions and visions. Having the material established from the solo let me expand on the movement vocabulary for group work and the ability to transition into resetting the solo. I listened to the music, watched the video, and furiously scribbled in my notebook with all of the ideas that were coming together in my head. Reflecting upon my weekend with my cast, I cannot believe was an amazing whirlwind it was. With plenty of room for adjustment and creating transitions, they absorbed the movement, the concept, and the passion that I had imagined for the work. They were ready to experiment, discover, and create right along with me. The piece that I had mapped out in my notebook fully came to life and exceeded any expectations that I had. Getting back on that plane was a bittersweet day; leaving a group of dancers and a new project that I had become so attached to. As I sat in my seat ready to fly away, I couldn't stop smiling, knowing that my ideas had come to life and the piece was in the amazing hands of the dancers that were as passionate as I was. New experiences and new creations....this is why I love what I do. Took some time yesterday to visit gritty locations that I have passed by while I drive, and drive, and drive... Let's back up - I've been wanting to create a new dance film or Dance for Camera since relocating back to the mainland. I have a fascination with abandoned buildings, chipping paint, rusted metal, and secluded locations. With all of the dwindling small towns and farms in the area, there are many spots like these that continue to capture my attention. There's an instant mood, feeling, and sense of history in these spots. With an upcoming Dance Film Festival entry deadline, this was the perfect time and motivation to jump on a project that I have been thinking about. So with my little car, my little camera, tripod, big dress, and my husband now turned videographer; we set out into the wild! Below are a few screen shots of the locations that we hit on the first day. I have a list of other places to add, but this was a good start to see what footage I will need to create my piece. Now to spend the day reviewing and editing footage, and scratching new found bug bites! |
AuthorAn educator, dancer, and choreographer. Continuing to create within the community to bring dance to the forefront of any environment. Archives
August 2016
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