Currently I'm studying improvisation with Gerald Casel as part of my MFA studies at UWM and this week we're going through some of William Forsythe's improvisation technologies. In today's class we worked with a number of exercises that primarily had to do with space and specifically with lines of the body. In one exercise we imagined drawing lines in space - either from a specific body part into space or from an inanimate object (floor or wall, for example) into space. Once you 'draw' the line you can then imagine moving it, dancing around it and relating to it. Other exercises we did had to do with folding and unfolding the limbs, creating spirals into the floor and manipulating other kinds of imaginative object. As I was doing these exercises I noted that they felt like they were improvisational exercises devised by someone trained as a ballet dancer. I don't mean that in a good or bad way, just that it was interesting to feel the history of Forsythe's training in my dancing as I was exploring his 'technologies'. It makes me wonder how the improvisational exercises that I choose to explore and teach are influenced by my body history. Or, if dancers whom are predominately trained in other modalities (ie. not modern/post-modern) would approach creating improvisaitonal exercises. We, of course, have some examples in tap, hip hop and probably many, many forms that I am not aware of. Any examples anyone can supple would be very interesting.
Here's one of the exercises I found on YouTube:
7.30.2010
7.19.2010
I'm a Composer. No I'm not.
This summer, as part of my work for an MFA in Dance, I'm taking a class in sound design and editing. For the class we are using Audacity to edit sounds and music. For our most recent assignment we had to take a specific file of a man and woman talking and make two different studies that felt very different. So, while I'm not claiming to be any kind of composer, here they are:
Bullet:
Bullet by dburkholder21
Who I am:
Who I am by dburkholder21
Bullet:
Bullet by dburkholder21
Who I am:
Who I am by dburkholder21
7.03.2010
The Value of Patience
I like art that requires patience.
Recently a colleague commented that she thought I must not mind if audiences are sometimes bored. I took this as a compliment.
I mean I want people to connect to the work, be effected by it and find value in it. But, it is also ok if they have to do alittle work. When I'm reading a book or poem or listening to music or watching a dance, it is ok if there is time of ambiguity or even boredom. I often find if I keep investing myself into the work there are great rewards. If I just give up on the work if it's not immediately engaging than I loose out.
And, of course, sometimes the work just isn't any good. I can be bored or disinterested and there is nothing to reinvest in. But I don't know that at first glance - it takes time and effort on my part.
I am currently reading a book of poetry by Pablo Neruda and last night I read through one of the poems and at the end I had no idea what the poem was about. So, I had a choice to either just go on to the next poem and discount the current poem or reread it again. I, obviously, reread it. And then I read it again. After multiple readings the meaning and flavor of the poem became clearer. It is a lovely poem.
So, patience is something I value in art, in the watching of art, and in the making of art.
Recently a colleague commented that she thought I must not mind if audiences are sometimes bored. I took this as a compliment.
I mean I want people to connect to the work, be effected by it and find value in it. But, it is also ok if they have to do alittle work. When I'm reading a book or poem or listening to music or watching a dance, it is ok if there is time of ambiguity or even boredom. I often find if I keep investing myself into the work there are great rewards. If I just give up on the work if it's not immediately engaging than I loose out.
And, of course, sometimes the work just isn't any good. I can be bored or disinterested and there is nothing to reinvest in. But I don't know that at first glance - it takes time and effort on my part.
I am currently reading a book of poetry by Pablo Neruda and last night I read through one of the poems and at the end I had no idea what the poem was about. So, I had a choice to either just go on to the next poem and discount the current poem or reread it again. I, obviously, reread it. And then I read it again. After multiple readings the meaning and flavor of the poem became clearer. It is a lovely poem.
So, patience is something I value in art, in the watching of art, and in the making of art.
6.30.2010
'night
I'm back in school this summer working more on completely my MFA in dance at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. It's far from home, but the weather is wonderful! Last week we had an intensive workshop in screendance (dance for camera, etc..) with Ellen Bromberg. It was a wonderful workshop and Ellen is a excellent teacher and guide. We worked on looking at screendance, both historically and contemporary, as well as learning techniques to create our own work. In culminating the week we each made a short screendance (2 minutes or less) with just one other person. Mine is called 'night, and here it is:
6.06.2010
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.
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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5.24.2010
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.
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.
4.15.2010
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?
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."
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