Performing at a museum was a wonderful experience that gave me the opportunity to create choreography beyond the walls of a proper theater space. This experience made me think further to all the possibilities of installation both with dance and art and how to allow spaces to shape choreography instead of making choreography to fit in a four walled room. I feel this was a step in merging the process of dance with reality and how that can further the profoundness of a piece and a dance experience.
The day of the performance I felt excitement and joy. I felt honored to be performing choreography I had created at a museum, let alone in Greece, let alone at the Benaki.
After I was prepared for my piece in my costume and made sure the girls had everything they needed, I spent the time until my dance watching other pieces.
A challenge in this performance was keeping yourself unseen by the audience at lease in costume so as to set this unpredictable performance atmosphere. When the other dancers and I were waiting to start my piece we had to remain behind the side entrance on the top the floor. When we saw the audience move past to Elifili's piece, we were able to move to the corridor corner to wait to run through to begin the piece.
The first showing went well but the piece ran a bit too long. I suppose this is because we didn't fully define more concrete cues to guide us in the end and out the door.
In the second showing we defined cues. When Dua begins to knock on door and tries to open it, I leave the room and watch from the audiences perspective. Pao and Elica make their way to the door as well.
This was my first performance outside of a theater or studio space. It challenged my usual way of thinking for choreography inviting a more three dimensional experience for both the dancer and the audience. This being said, an added challenge was how to indirectly guide the audience from one piece to the next. I decided to do this by having us dancers run from the opposite side of the corridor, through the audience and inside the room.
(The door we enter through is shut after we begin the choreography and remains shut)
At the end we again guide the audience by running back where we entered, past Demy sitting in her chair (the next piece).
Thursday I met with the dancers and we decided to have the dancers not on the window to be following the same task so as to provide movement that would be a backdrop for the dancer on the window.
As far as awareness and relations with audience, I was the only dancer who made clear awareness of the audiences presence while the other dancers remained neutral.
Since I was the dancer to have awareness of the audience, I leave the room first through another door and join the audience in observation. Dua sees me and realizes the other door and the other two follow after dragging each other out of the door.
When Ana and Candy watched my piece (as a more finished product than the midterm) they gave me two things to think about:
- define clearly the dancers relationship to the audience
- make the task more concrete for the other dancers while the one dancer is interacting with the window.
Wednesday we had rehearsal at the Benaki again and were given many hours to rehearse in the spaces. This time we were able to unlock my space. While the other dancers (Paola, Dua, and Elica) were working on their choreographic, I had a museum worker help me open the space and I began to mark the choreography. Since the silver frames on window made four frames on bottom of windows and I have four dancers I decided each dancer would move within these frames. The frame on the end was also a door to the outside corridor of which I was able to incorporate into the choreography for the dancers to enter the space. I remembered the discussion I had with Michael Klien about the studio space (or rather any space where an individual chooses to move) and how it becomes a symbolic space where one enters a site for excavation. Although I hadn't previously planned for a door, it furthered my ideas. When the dancers came to rehearse my piece we all quickly connected to the space and I felt the choreography developed into so much more now that it was in the space. Although I was the choreographer, I invited the girls to share their thoughts on the movement and what worked and what did not work.
~ I enjoy a choreographic process where the dancers are also involved in the creative process~
Throughout the movement we each tried to identify our own relationship with the audience as well as our own moments we shared direct contact with the window glass and more intimately with the audience.
The dance began with synced movement between the four of us and later we switched to individualized movement simultaneously occurring. Towards the end when each dancer had their own moment in the glass the rest of the dancers resumed with a separate movement tasks.
Its seems as if the dancers forget there is a door to this room that puts them in a state of raw emotions (movement).
Eventually, the dancers all leave (through a different door) the space but not all leave in the same state (unlike the beginning).
The room I had chose to use for my piece was locked so when Vicky came to watch we had to accommodate and performed the movement in the corridor outside of the room. Regardless of the unavailable space, Vicky was able to get a feel for my choreography and gave some great advice as to what to think about as far as the space I chose and how it will mold the choreography.
- How will the choreography interact with the window?
- How will the dancers interact with the audience?
- Does the room need lighting?
- How can I assure the space will be unlocked before performance?
Before we began a run through with Vicky, we had time to explore our spaces on our own. The first thing I notice (that I hadn't before) about my space was that there are silver frames on the glass bisecting the window into 8 units (4 below and 4 above). When imaging my piece in this space I had thought it was plain glass with no frames so I had to develop the choreography in a way that would make sense with these bisecting frames. I noticed that the horizontal mid line in the frames would be at eye level for the other dancers and I. Although it may at times block the audiences view of our eyes, it would add an interesting element to the choreography. Also when us dancers were further upstage, the frames would not block the audiences view of us.
Vicky was with us this time and watched our pieces giving feedback as to how to utilized the spaces we chose within the Benaki.
Monday we met at the Benaki to mark our pieces in the spaces we chose to work in. It was a long evening but we made good progress as far as order of the performances and elements we needed to consider in order for our choreographies to be a success.
https://vimeo.com/33144936
I am intrigued by the concentrated swaying within the frames of the window in this piece on Vimeo.
After rehearsing in the Benaki last Monday with Vicky, I realized the room I am using has gray frames on the glass. I have been thinking of the relationship between the choreography and the space and what will be needed in order to allow this relationship. I also noticed there are doors on either side of the space in the glass and am hoping to have the dancers enter through these doors in the beginning of the choreography and perhaps some escape the space in the end of the choreograghy.
observing and allowing the movement of the natural world free from social construct
"Forming the world into magnificence"
My interpretation of Parliament:
In Parliament their are not "steps" individuals are share a space for an extended period of time with no objects around them except each other. The individuals are observing others and themselves. In the beginning the individuals are constrained by "social niceties" that govern what behavior is "allowed". Klien has observed that after 40 minutes, the individuals are released from this and begin movements in response to this raw, stripped (of structure), reality. Here we enter the "sane" whereas the outside world is the "insane" ruled by social "rules" that constrict ourselves from this necessary dig.
He took me further into his thought processes while choreographing through the description of his event he calls "Parliament"
Klien describes his choreographic practice, as a PROCESS, one that is approach through digging instead of building. What ever you dig is already there, it is digging to discover the spaces in between to determine what is there. Klien also refers to the space that is being danced in as an excavation site where the digging takes place. During the dig one is negotiating relations with each other and with oneself as well as exploring mental cultivation.
Last week I met with Michael Klien for coffee to discuss his dance philosophy and his form of practice.
I have been making connections with this choreography course and the relationship between the dancer's body, choreography, and the space or objects incorporated to my documentary film class. The film represents the relationship between the filmmaker, their subject and the audience and these relationships come together to represent the complexity of the world.
Often times I forget how important the space chosen for a choreography is. In most of the choreography i have been in previously the space is already chosen (a theater where all dances from the academy or company will be held). This course has reminded me that choreography does not just happen in a studio or a theater space.
"In witnessing these performances, it is as though the dancers interact with the physical and aesthetic elements of the space to demonstrate ingenious and creative ways to inhabit it, to demonstrate previously inconceivable properties of the space, and to show how both the physical space of the site and the moving bodies co-create innovative spatial duets." - Spatial Engagement in Site Specific Choreography.pdf
This is the space I would like to use in the Benaki for my choreography. I would also be open to using the room next to it with the stairs.
UNIFY THE SELF
Things the self may need to heal from:
- The Past
- Loss
- Physical
Anna Halprin's 5 Stages of Healing:
1. Confronting primary issues
2. Having courage and strength to confront what you've identified
3. Release
4. Change that comes
5. Integration
Anna Halprin dances for peace, health, life, and death. In the mid 1900s Anna made dance an art any body in any place could take part of. She sees as more than a performing art, as a universal healing art. We can use our own life experiences as a source of artistic expression.
I came across this photo the other day and am interested in it and could inspire some choreography.
I have emailed Michael Klein and hope to be meeting up with him this coming week to discuss his philosophy of dance and his approach to choreography.
I have been thinking about the effect others have on us and have been seeing it as if every individual you meet is painting you with their essence. I am thinking of having the dancer or dancers paint me at some point in the choreography.
While I was originally thinking of having four dancers I may make it a duet where one dancer is the shadow of the other.
I have made some choreography that looks as if the dancers are a shadow of one dancer and I am beginning to play with this idea.
I am recently been looking into the theories about the 10 dimensions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Gotl9vRGs
Could this be illustrated through movement?
How can movement represent the different dimensions?
I thought of choreography where dancers were tied together with rope inspired by one of the Benaki pieces. "Untangling selves intuitively".
The Benaki piece reminds me of the image of the Vitruvian Man.
"the importance of proportion"
Looking at the proportions of the body to better understand proportion of reality.
In class last week I played with the task of extensions of the body. I worked with Pao and we experimented with physical and non physical connection in movement. We began a task that explore the observation of each others movement and relaying similar movement in response in a continuous cycle. Repetition was reoccurring.
Another piece in the Benaki that I was intrigued by was the one where a dancer had many different ropes tied to her coming from all angles and she tried to create movement within the restriction. I do not remember the name of the piece or the artist.
I am going to start looking at dance as a healing art and earlier choreographers with similar perspectives of dance.
Michael's work uses connects dance and choreography with the world merging the two as society tends to put a division between the dance world (perhaps as more performative) overlooking the catharsis of choreographic movement.
Here is Michael Klien's Website: http://www.michaelklien.com/
I am from the Boston area and am half greek and half american. I am interested in philosophy as a tool to ask further of the world and myself in order to further my understand and reach my highest sense of self. I use art (in the form of film, media, and dance) to make connections and better understand existence. Dance has been an illuminating art form that I have been participating in since I was quite young. Not only has allowed me to be more conscious of my body and time and space. My dance education has been based on the artist and cathartic process dance allows. I see the body as a canvas and for me dance creates a three dimensional illustration of feeling that functions as both an outside presentation and inner reflection.
