Phase I

2008-03-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I have ever blogged and the first time I have written about creating a dance as I am creating it. YAY! Many would say I am finally becoming a part of the internet society :) But, I understand why I have possibly held out from blogger-sations. Maybe I am old fashioned, or simply a dancer and choreographer at heart who thinks conversations happen when bodies meet and sweat is exchanged. Slightly more tactile and visceral than this format. Nonetheless, this seems like a great way to think about the piece I am creating out loud and let into the process the voice and thoughts of the audience and supporters of the company, as well as the dancers and contributing artists. I am not sure what effect this will have on the piece and my process, but I am interested to see. I cannot say what blogging my usually scattered and possibly nebulous thoughts will be like, but know this...I was voted "most likely to still be rambling 10 years from now" by my senior class. That may clue you in to how this will go.

To begin, I have consciously come into this piece with far more structured choreography and phrases than usual. With my earlier work, improvisation was my first step to discovering the movement. Not to say I have every piece of the puzzle predetermined. Simply, I have a very clear idea of how I want the movement to effect the dancer and push their physicality. Many of the movement phrases are based on making complex patterns and shapes with the body, almost to confuse the mind and force the body to continue on its path as if it was programmed like a machine. Another technique I have used to create movement is to take on the sensation of moving backwards or out of sequence, as if you were rewinding a movie or jumping between different parts of the same phrase. Once again, to remove some of the fluidity from the movement and display a more disjointed quality of movement representative of the loss of this mind body connection.Overall, we are working on finding a place where movement is not performed due to a choice by the mind, but as if the body is programmed...lacking sensation or soul. This is only one part of the larger vision for the piece.

Another exploration that we have taken on is discovering what it is like to have a tick or unstoppable movement that begins as an imperceptible shake and grows into an unending disturbance of the body, whether it be focused on a single part of the body, or an overall agitation. This has resulted in some very emotional, challenging, and pointedly honest explorations of movement. Often as dancers, it takes a lot to "trick" us out of dancing and simply have a physical experience. This was one of those exercises that successfully took the dance out of the dancer and made them human again. This is not necessarily a good or bad thing...it is just different. I am excited to see how this experience can be shared with an audience without becoming too personal or too much of a spectacle.

The work of the dancers and their interpretation of the movement is what drives forward my creative process. I am constantly faced with an unknown result...I am constantly surprised. They are all so beautiful and giving, and they trust where I am leading them. And for this, I do not have to come into the room with a predetermined notion of what I want to find or achieve that day. I am always confident that they will bring something to the table that will awe and inspire me, and spur on the creative process.

Oh, and lastly, the title of the piece...everyone loves titles...fitting so much into one poignant word or phrase...ahhh the resolution and satisfaction...I am going to change it 50 times and then end up with this one because in all honesty...it is like a name - you think it defines that person, but really you can't figure out its purpose in describing them.
SO...the piece is called HyperSuperUltra.

You can tell from the blog URL that I have already changed it. I told you :)

If you have any title suggestions based on what you read in the blog and what I have presented as a title...do share. I am always interested in your thoughts.

Let your work and life be constantly informed by your imagination. It makes things pretty exciting :)
Have a great day,
-Kate

ps. See, I have no clue if it is protocal to sign off like a letter or just "blah, blah, blah" and be done. hmmm. need to do some research. Second thing i already love about blogging is the fact that Webdings or webdings is actually a font option. As we get closer to the show, this will probably be my font of choice.

Modern Myths and Monsters - the process

Phase I