Collaboration with Jen and Kelly
Title: Danger Danger
Statement of Intention: To exemplify the vulnerability of art in society.
Objects Needed: one performer
Description: The performer must create a dangerous situation that satisfies the intention of the performance. They may include other performers and/or objects if necessary.
Conclusion: The performance concludes after 2 minutes.
I chose to perform my dance over a hot plate, while throwing water upon it and dancing in the steam. I wanted to work with the idea of the artist pushing himself further and where that fuzzy line is between challenging oneself and putting oneself in harm’s way. At the beginning of the performance, I found myself relatively far away from the heat, because I did not want to get injured. As I moved through the steam, I worked my way closer and closer to the source of the heat, to the point where it started to hurt a little.
I really found myself getting into this performance, because the idea of danger kind of turned me on a bit. I think there has always been a part of me that wants to test the waters. I love pushing things to the limit; as a child, I would push my parents to their limit. I liked figuring out where the breaking point was. To me, that is where I find my artistry - just before the breaking point.
I think collaboration in dance can be a lot of things. I have had collaborations that felt very much like two parties contributing equally to a piece as well as collaborations in which other people (or myself) made small yet meaningful contributions. Sometimes people can collaborate without their knowledge. I have collaborated with famous musicians simply by using their music. In this case, I collaborated with two dancers to create and perform a script in three separate locations. For me, it was an interesting experience, although in hindsight, I wish the script had been a bit more specific, because I felt that our three performances couldn’t really be compared to each other because they ended up being so different.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Research
1. Trained vs. Untrained Movement
The juxtaposition between the highly stylized and the pedestrian
2. Personal Relationships
The way people’s relationships outside the dance studio affect their relationships inside the studio
3. Movement History
The background of a person’s relationship to movement and how it fits into the group.
The juxtaposition between the highly stylized and the pedestrian
2. Personal Relationships
The way people’s relationships outside the dance studio affect their relationships inside the studio
3. Movement History
The background of a person’s relationship to movement and how it fits into the group.
Lab 4
Title: Dearly Departed
Statement of Intention: To remember someone who is no longer living through dance.
Objects: 1 performer, 1 memory of a loved one who has passed away
Direction: The performer dances a specific memory he or she had with a person who has passed away.
Conclusion: The performance concludes when the performer reaches the end of the memory.
Reflection: For my performance, I chose a memory I had with my late grandfather. He and I drove down the California coast from San Francisco to Big Sur while I was in college. I flew out to San Francisco specifically to spend time with him, because my mother told me that he was getting older and I would regret not taking advantage of the time I had with him. The truth is, I don’t remember much about the trip. I remember the drive down in my grandfather’s hybrid car. I remember letting him drive for a bit even though my father explicitly told me he was forbidden from driving while I was in the car. I remember the hotel room we slept in and the crows that congregated outside the window, in a very Hitchcockian manner. All of these moments became a part of my performance.
The performance itself took place inside my apartment. I assigned various parts of the memory to various rooms. As I moved from one memory to the next, I moved from one room to the next. I noticed that at the beginning of the piece, I was full of energy and joy. As I progressed, I realized that reminiscing about my grandfather and thinking about how he was no longer here was depressing me and my movement. Even writing this down is making me upset. By the end of the piece, I was sitting on my bed, motionless, for about twenty minutes as my mind wandered to other memories of him.
I felt that this script was successful, since the subject was memory and it led me to remember a lot. I am grateful for this assignment, because I felt that I was able to connect with my grandfather, who died in late November of last year. In short, this was a hard but ultimately fruitful assignment.
Statement of Intention: To remember someone who is no longer living through dance.
Objects: 1 performer, 1 memory of a loved one who has passed away
Direction: The performer dances a specific memory he or she had with a person who has passed away.
Conclusion: The performance concludes when the performer reaches the end of the memory.
Reflection: For my performance, I chose a memory I had with my late grandfather. He and I drove down the California coast from San Francisco to Big Sur while I was in college. I flew out to San Francisco specifically to spend time with him, because my mother told me that he was getting older and I would regret not taking advantage of the time I had with him. The truth is, I don’t remember much about the trip. I remember the drive down in my grandfather’s hybrid car. I remember letting him drive for a bit even though my father explicitly told me he was forbidden from driving while I was in the car. I remember the hotel room we slept in and the crows that congregated outside the window, in a very Hitchcockian manner. All of these moments became a part of my performance.
The performance itself took place inside my apartment. I assigned various parts of the memory to various rooms. As I moved from one memory to the next, I moved from one room to the next. I noticed that at the beginning of the piece, I was full of energy and joy. As I progressed, I realized that reminiscing about my grandfather and thinking about how he was no longer here was depressing me and my movement. Even writing this down is making me upset. By the end of the piece, I was sitting on my bed, motionless, for about twenty minutes as my mind wandered to other memories of him.
I felt that this script was successful, since the subject was memory and it led me to remember a lot. I am grateful for this assignment, because I felt that I was able to connect with my grandfather, who died in late November of last year. In short, this was a hard but ultimately fruitful assignment.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Choreography Project
Intention: To create a piece using a combination of both dancers and non-dancers in which both populations feel their needs met, both onstage and during rehearsal.
The piece will be created through various means, including but not limited to improvisation, assignments, word association, etc., and will culminate in a performance in early December 2011. Dancers have been recruited via social networking and will be paid per performance. Most of the dancers are friends of mine, and I intend to use the very possibly awkward exchanges in rehearsal to fuel the piece’s creation. There will be at least one performance, possibly more. Rehearsals will take place on the weekends, both on Friday and Saturday, as many of the performers have jobs during the week. I may add rehearsals during the week for those who can attend depending upon scheduling and need.
The piece will be created through various means, including but not limited to improvisation, assignments, word association, etc., and will culminate in a performance in early December 2011. Dancers have been recruited via social networking and will be paid per performance. Most of the dancers are friends of mine, and I intend to use the very possibly awkward exchanges in rehearsal to fuel the piece’s creation. There will be at least one performance, possibly more. Rehearsals will take place on the weekends, both on Friday and Saturday, as many of the performers have jobs during the week. I may add rehearsals during the week for those who can attend depending upon scheduling and need.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Dance Review Review
With Nods to Schoenberg and Dr. King
By GIA KOURLAS
Published: September 19, 2011
I was unimpressed by this review of Monstah Black's "Black Moon." Kourklas feels the need to describe everything she sees, albeit too briefly. Rather than delving deeply into a few select images, she glosses over what seems like the entire piece. Truth be told, I could not tell whether or not she even liked the piece, or whether or not I should be interested in seeing it. In my opinion, this was not a very well written review, because it seemed to serve no purpose, other than the author’s ability to say, “I saw this. This is what happened.”
By GIA KOURLAS
Published: September 19, 2011
I was unimpressed by this review of Monstah Black's "Black Moon." Kourklas feels the need to describe everything she sees, albeit too briefly. Rather than delving deeply into a few select images, she glosses over what seems like the entire piece. Truth be told, I could not tell whether or not she even liked the piece, or whether or not I should be interested in seeing it. In my opinion, this was not a very well written review, because it seemed to serve no purpose, other than the author’s ability to say, “I saw this. This is what happened.”
Dance Viewed This Week
"Sleep No More"
Last week, I was fortunate enough to score three tickets to "Sleep No More" by the group Punchdrunk. The piece was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. It is a telling of Shakespeare's "MacBeth" through dance. The setting is the fictional McKittrick Hotel, which is in reality, a completely refurbished warehouse (there are over 100 rooms created for this performance, including an enchanted forest, a graveyard, a banquet hall, a hospital, etc.). The audience is required to wear masks, which is what separates them from the performers. Each performer has his or her own path that they follow from the beginning of the piece until the end. During their performances, they seemingly seamlessly intersect with other performers for duets, trios, and group sections. Part of the excitement of the piece as an audience member is chasing after the characters to see where he or she will go and what he or she will do. I do not want to give too much away here, because I really do believe that this piece absolutely needs to be seen. I went with my fiancé and one of my best friends and all three of us had completely different experiences, but all of us found it to be one of the most incredible theatrical experiences of our lives. This show is worth a trip to New York. Book your tickets now, because they will sell out.
Last week, I was fortunate enough to score three tickets to "Sleep No More" by the group Punchdrunk. The piece was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. It is a telling of Shakespeare's "MacBeth" through dance. The setting is the fictional McKittrick Hotel, which is in reality, a completely refurbished warehouse (there are over 100 rooms created for this performance, including an enchanted forest, a graveyard, a banquet hall, a hospital, etc.). The audience is required to wear masks, which is what separates them from the performers. Each performer has his or her own path that they follow from the beginning of the piece until the end. During their performances, they seemingly seamlessly intersect with other performers for duets, trios, and group sections. Part of the excitement of the piece as an audience member is chasing after the characters to see where he or she will go and what he or she will do. I do not want to give too much away here, because I really do believe that this piece absolutely needs to be seen. I went with my fiancé and one of my best friends and all three of us had completely different experiences, but all of us found it to be one of the most incredible theatrical experiences of our lives. This show is worth a trip to New York. Book your tickets now, because they will sell out.
Viewed Videos and Responses
La Pocha Nostra: Guillermo Gomez Pena
Guillermo Gomez Pena’s work is incredibly raw and honest. The subject matter was very political. I wished the video had focused more on the performance rather than the artists’ and audience’s emotional reactions to it, because I felt that I was responding to what I was hearing from them, not what I was seeing myself.
Our lady of Detritus, Interpretation in Dance: Jill Sigman
I kind of loved the excerpts from Our Lady of Detritus. My favorite moment was when the woman in the wheelbarrow said, “you can go scuba diving with the fish, and then you can eat them at the same time!” Cracked me up. I loved the way she interacted with the audience in a very real way, despite being so overly-styled.
I also agreed a lot with what Sigman had to say about interpretation. I also feel that a lot of people put unnecessary pressure on “getting it right” and I think that hurts the work and the audience’s experience of it. I strongly believe that the work is whatever you get from it; no more, no less.
Palo Buggiani
I loved the video of Buggiani on the bicycle. There was something oddly soothing about watching a man bike down the street with fire behind him. I also really appreciated the other video and the kind of work he has been doing with fire. Talk about pyromania!
Charlotte Moorman, Playing TV with Cello: Nam June Paik
I have heard Moorman in an interview talk about how she went to Juilliard to study cello and instead wound up working with Nam June Paik. The TV cello, and how she played it, was certainly revolutionary. I couldn’t help but read one of the comments on the video: “Lady Gaga?” Well, not exactly, but I’m sure Gaga is very much aware of Paik’s work with Moorman.
When I looked at the site, the video of Burning Man had been taken down. However, I did get the chance to watch the video “How to tell a story” from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which was very informative. They talked about how a good story works because each event is caused by the one before it. Simply stringing a lot of ideas together does not work.
On another note, I am totally committed to going to Burning Man one day. Definitely on my bucket list.
Dance a Day: Boris Willis
The idea is interesting: creating a dance everyday. Frankly, it’s something we should all be aspiring to. Besides the idea itself, I really wasn’t all that interested in the project or its videos.
Meat Joy: Carolee Scheenmann
To call Scheenmann’s work “raw” is an understatement. Her materials are, well, mostly raw meat and fish, as well as other inorganic materials. For me, this is not a performance I could watch. I get disgusted by this sort of thing. This is not to say that it doesn’t have artistic merit - it absolutely does - but I personally can’t sit through a performance like this.
Guillermo Gomez Pena’s work is incredibly raw and honest. The subject matter was very political. I wished the video had focused more on the performance rather than the artists’ and audience’s emotional reactions to it, because I felt that I was responding to what I was hearing from them, not what I was seeing myself.
Our lady of Detritus, Interpretation in Dance: Jill Sigman
I kind of loved the excerpts from Our Lady of Detritus. My favorite moment was when the woman in the wheelbarrow said, “you can go scuba diving with the fish, and then you can eat them at the same time!” Cracked me up. I loved the way she interacted with the audience in a very real way, despite being so overly-styled.
I also agreed a lot with what Sigman had to say about interpretation. I also feel that a lot of people put unnecessary pressure on “getting it right” and I think that hurts the work and the audience’s experience of it. I strongly believe that the work is whatever you get from it; no more, no less.
Palo Buggiani
I loved the video of Buggiani on the bicycle. There was something oddly soothing about watching a man bike down the street with fire behind him. I also really appreciated the other video and the kind of work he has been doing with fire. Talk about pyromania!
Charlotte Moorman, Playing TV with Cello: Nam June Paik
I have heard Moorman in an interview talk about how she went to Juilliard to study cello and instead wound up working with Nam June Paik. The TV cello, and how she played it, was certainly revolutionary. I couldn’t help but read one of the comments on the video: “Lady Gaga?” Well, not exactly, but I’m sure Gaga is very much aware of Paik’s work with Moorman.
When I looked at the site, the video of Burning Man had been taken down. However, I did get the chance to watch the video “How to tell a story” from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which was very informative. They talked about how a good story works because each event is caused by the one before it. Simply stringing a lot of ideas together does not work.
On another note, I am totally committed to going to Burning Man one day. Definitely on my bucket list.
Dance a Day: Boris Willis
The idea is interesting: creating a dance everyday. Frankly, it’s something we should all be aspiring to. Besides the idea itself, I really wasn’t all that interested in the project or its videos.
Meat Joy: Carolee Scheenmann
To call Scheenmann’s work “raw” is an understatement. Her materials are, well, mostly raw meat and fish, as well as other inorganic materials. For me, this is not a performance I could watch. I get disgusted by this sort of thing. This is not to say that it doesn’t have artistic merit - it absolutely does - but I personally can’t sit through a performance like this.
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