Help Hinder Halt

I am currently working with Stefanie and Susan Oetgen in creating  a new work called The Chemistry of Lime Trees. We're starting with the story of Admira and Bosko - two people who were lovers in Sarajevo and killed during the war in the 1990s. He as a Serb and she was a Muslim and they were shot by a sniper as they attempted to cross the border from one side (Muslim) to the other (Serb). We are using this story and moment in history to explore a number of subjects.

Susan was intrigued about the role of the sniper in this story - what did he know about them, how did he do his job, who was he, how does it feel to kill someone from such a distance. Susan had recently met a former sniper from the U.S. Marines and was able to discuss his experience. Through him Susan learned that in the US Marines, snipers did a fair amount of research before they go out on a mission and are able to articulate possible events (weather, terrain, etc..) that might help, hinder or halt their mission. We've decided to use these three words - Help, Hinder & Halt - as starting points to generate material for the work. Below is some excerpts from a rehearsal in which Stefanie and I are using these words in the context of Admira and Bosko - thinking about that first kiss, or first time they had sex, or just developing a physical relationship with one another and how there were starts and stops and re-allignments going on. This video is excerpts from an improv we did - the final section may or may not be improvised.

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Moving, Meditation, Performance

Sunday my company and I presented improvisational material in an informal studio (which you can watch here) showing at Joy of Motion Atlas. Since late fall we've explored bringing various meditative movement practices into performance. Below is a description of each of the 6 sections.

1. SHAPES: We explored the sensation of a specific position by sensing the body's weight into the floor, placement of the right leg, left leg, spine, right arm, left arm and position of the head. As we move from shape to shape we sensed each of these 7 elements. As the section continued we create more complex pathways and hold shapes for shorter periods of time - the whole time keeping inner awareness of the shape while outwardly relating to each other.

2. SOLO: We started with the question, "What do other people see when they watch dance?". This evolved into one person moving (in this performance, Ilana), while the others take turns describing what we see as we watch Ilana. Sometimes the talking is descriptive ("lift leg, step into lung"), or interpretive ("she seems to be moving away from something, or someone"), or encouraging ("That's it, make it bigger").

3. SIDE-STEPPING: One of the meditative practices we worked with was walking meditation. From this, Ilana brought in a structure in which the dancers start in a straight line doing a simple side step and together movement. Anyone can leave the line to initiate a new group improv, then anyone can come back into the line, side-stepping, together. We changed this score to a certain degree - for example, every time we break out of the line the new movement has a very different quality than what we were previously doing. We also approached the side-stepping movement as a form of walking meditation.

4. DUET: Similar to SOLO, except it is a duet for Stefanie and myself. It starts with Ilana and Katie commenting on the duet, but Stefanie and I take over to have a dialogue while we're dancing - about the experience of being inside the dance, while being in the dance.

5. AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT: We explored Authentic Movement quite a bit in our rehearsal process. It consists of one dancer in the space, with his or her eyes closed, moving in response to his or her body/mind sensations/thoughts/feelings/images with no expectations of the kind of movement being danced. While this person is moving the other person(s) watch from the side, without judgement. For this performance we each took turns going into the space and moving with, usually, our eyes closed for a period of time (undetermined). For this performance we had music playing which isn't necessarily usually the case when one is doing Authentic Movement.

6. PATHWAYS: Based on a work I created number of years ago, this work explores pathways we travel through the performance space, as well as the limbs relation to space, being somewhat playful with one another, and entrances and exits to the space. This was a fairly short section (2 min).

In the fall we'll be continuing to work on improvisational work and will hopefully share new stuff in November.

We Are All Natives. Learn My Tribe.

In Ann Daly's "The Interested Act of Dance Criticism" performer/critic Sal Murgiyato is quoted as saying when "writing about world dance, it is wise to consider the way natives look at their own dances" (4). We can, and should, widen the definition of 'natives' to include a modern idea of tribe, or community. Would it not also be appropriate to consider a contemporary work of art by the norms of the community from which is arises? Claudia La Rocco writes, in her New York Times review of Simone Forti, that the setting "was an open space with... only a smattering of seats." Tying history to this setting, she notes that "the studio was covered with reclining bodies, evoking accounts of Judson-era arrangements." Creating a context in which this work evolved - Judson Church Theater - locates it within a specific community. This contextualization directly relates to Forti's work in that she "invites you to relax into your surroundings."(La Rocco) With the knowledge of the setting, both physical and historical, La Rocco's observation has more meaning and resonance for the reader.

Shifting the critical viewpoint towards a contextualized perspective causes critics to realign their approach to performances because "she is no longer judge, but rather interpreter." (La Rocco) This is true, unless, of course, the critic themselves is an insider of the community from which she is critiquing. In Edwin Dendy's article, "Dance Criticism", the author assumes performances are in a tradition of which he is apart with his job being to give "a clear picture of the event and to place it in its relation to the art of theater dancing." Dendy does not state there are multiple traditions in which to place the performance, but only one - "theater dancing". La Rocco sums up work by Shelly Senter by writing that the dance "became a quietly shifting human landscape, the careful craft of the work’s interlocking sections often infused with a looser, improvisational physicality." She continues, there are "hints of wit and tenderness glinted throughout, though some choreographic passages felt less necessary than others; it’s easy to grow impatient with such understated material." Even in the context of the review we are left without knowing anything specifically unique - it could be a description of many performances, from many time periods and styles. But, La Rocco is assuming her audience participates in the community that this work came out of - mainly, a New York City post-modern dance crowd. The question must arise, what happens when you are reading this review and are not part of the tribe?

Dance criticism illuminates most clearly when the critic investigates the world out of which the dance evolves. This is hard. This means that not all critics can or should review all dance, because, as Dendy writes, the critic "can hardly be illuminating or right enough unless he has a fund of knowledge about his subject."

Collaboration: In a Process

I am currently collaborating with Stefanie Quinones Bass (dancer/choreographer) and Susan Oetgen (singer/composer) on a new work - The Chemistry of Lime Trees (tentative title). We are in the very beginning stages of the project, so our main focus right now is defining our collaborative process. I have worked with both these artists previously - Stefanie has been in my company for 5+ years, and Susan composed the music (with David Durst) and performed in one of my works (that Stefanie was also in) a couple of years ago. But, for this project, even though I initiated it, the three of us are equal collaborators - so, we need to define our new relationships and how this process will work.

In our first rehearsal Susan suggested beginning by making four lists: Objectives, Roles, Timing & Resources. Some of the Objectives were obvious: "make a collaborative piece w/original music & movement" and "1/2 evening length piece". Similarly, the list of Roles contained many obvious choices - "choreographer, composer, performer, lighting designer, set designer", but also included "time keeper, decision maker and documentarian". By writing out these lists it helped frame and define what we're doing while putting us all on the same page. In this discussion other issues came up, so that we created another list - Open Questions - that included, "How literal will we be?", "How much will be improvised?", and "How much time will each person allot to this project?" Again, putting these questions down on paper helps focus our attention on issues and questions we have as we continue to develop the work.

I'll write more about our second rehearsal - with video conferencing and our Fears/Hopes - soon.

Collaboration Summary #1

I'm currently doing some research on collaboration and am putting together some short summaries of the works I'm reading. Here is one for "Collaboration: What Makes it Work".


Collaboration: What Makes it Work by Paul W. Mattessich, Marta Murray-Close and Barbara R. Monsey

In Collaboration: What Makes It Work the authors have aggregated dozens of studies about collaboration to come up with a list of essential factors for successful collaboration. In the context of this book the type of collaboration being discussed is between service organizations such as non-profit neighborhood clinics, after school programs, local government, and the like. In the book they briefly describe 20 success factors. Some factors don't seem directly applicable to artists, but some are easily translated. The factors are divided into three categories - environment, membership characteristics, process & structure, communication and purpose. I have listed the factors that I feel are essential to successful collaboration between artists.

Environment:
A. History of collaboration or cooperation: "Other things being equal, collaborative efforts will most likely succeed where cooperative or collaborative activity has a history or is encouraged." (pg. 12)

Membership Characteristics:
A. Mutual respect, understanding, and trust: "Members of the collaborative group share an understanding and respect for each other". (pg 14) The authors also suggest, "At the very beginning of an effort, collaborating partners should temporarily set aside the purpose of the collaboration and devote energy to learning about each other." (14)
B. Members see collaboration as in their self-interest: "Collaborating partners believe that they will benefit from their involvement in the collaboration" (16)
C. Ability to Compromise: "Collaborating partners are able to compromise, since the many decisions within a collaborative effort cannot possibly fit the preferences of every member perfectly." (17)

Process and Structure:
A. Members share a stake in both process and outcome: Members of a collaborative group fell "ownership" of both the way the group works and the results or products of its work." (18)
B Flexibility: "Collaborative groups need to be flexible both in their structure and in their methods." (20)
C. Development of clear roles and policy guidelines: "Members need to discuss the roles, rights, and responsibilities of the partners, reach agreement on these, and clearly communicate them to all relevant parties. Letters of agreement may be helpful." (20) And, "Members' true interests and strengths should be considered." (21)

Communication
A. Open and frequent communication: "Collaborative group members interact often, update one another, discuss issues openly, and convey all necessary information to one another" (23). And, "Communication strategies must be planned to reflect the diverse communications styles of the members of the collaborative group."
B. Established informal relationships and communication links: "In addition to formal channels of communication, members establish personal connections - producing a better, more informed,and cohesive group working on a common project." (24)

Purpose
A Concrete, attainable goals and objectives: "Goals and objectives of the collaborative group are clear to all partners, and can realistically be attained." (25)
B. Shared Vision: "Collaborating partners have the same vision, with clearly agreed-upon mission, objectives, and strategy." (26)
C. Unique Purpose: "The mission and goals of a collaborative group must create a "sphere of activity." (26)

Resources
A. Sufficient funds, staff, materials, and time: the group needs to have adequate funding and staff time to achieve its goals.
B. Skilled leadership: "The individual who provides leadership for the collaborative group has organizing and interpersonal skills, and carries out the role with fairness." (28

One other quote that seems important: "The collaborative process should not be rushed. Solid relationships take time to develop, and goals are more easily attained when pursued with patience and persistence." (27)

Site Specific Slide Show

Here's a little slide show of some photos from a number of site specific performances we've done over the last couple of years.

A Family of Men, Dancing

Since we just celebrated Thanksgiving I've been thinking alittle bit about what I'm thankful for and a conversation got me thinking about my family. A friend was commenting on how a young, male relative had just started taking dance class and his father and grandfather were not supportive of this choice. I started dancing when I was 9 years old and have continued to dance continously since then without ever once feeling pressure from any of my family to stop. In fact, my family has been amazingly supportive of my choice to dance. But, and this I only recently realized, I come from a family of men who dance.

In the 1970s my father and mother competed in ballroom dancing and into the 80s they continued to teach it - they still like to go out dancing occasionally. My father is retired now, but has found a second career as a fitness/aerobic instructor and greatly enjoys the more 'dancey' versions of aerobics. My father's father and mother, once he retired, became avid square dancers - sometimes going to 4-5 dances a week. So, the fact that I danced never seemed odd to anyone in my family. It's true the kind of dancing I did growing up (jazz, tap, ballet, breakin') was different from the social dancing they did. And certainly the kind of dancing I do now (modern, post-modern, contact improvisation) is very different. But, in my family, there has always been an appreciation of the body moving, of dancing. I am so grateful to come from a family of men who dance - it is quite amazing.