Art Activists

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=f4-vGbsBLKM
Tar on naked body in Tate Museum London
Forcing companies to make the right decisions, not the easy ones.  Now if we can only get NPR to stop accepting funding from Monsanto...

Week 15 Kelly's Aesthetic/Yeong Jin's Aesthetic /Torense's choreography/Choreo Clinic

http://choreoclinic.com/
interesting idea for budding choreographers, would be neat to be a contributor to this clinic once grad school is over.

A helpful website for striving choreographers to find language and definition of our sometimes seemingly magjical processes of art making.

http://vimeo.com/33444227
Kelly's aesthetic piece.  Great it made me laugh, made me anticipate, made me want to direct it.  Made me think of people going to the same job in and out unhappy over and over again. Made me think of you finally learaing something and getting it and then realizing nope you don't get it and having to go back to the drawing board.

75 Steps took me into human's plight of success and failure, sillyness and seriousness, and the daily repetiton of the hum drum so many of us suffer from.

http://vimeo.com/33527791
Yeon Jin's work
I loved it.  The pureness of movement, heart felt, the internal confict exposed that so many of us suffer through.  Yeong Jin has turned her struggle into a lovely movement poem from which we can all sigh.

http://vimeo.com/33122048
Torense's choregrpahy
Way to go.  25 dancesr taking power and threat into movement, musically matching the drive and turbolence of the score.


http://vimeo.com/33281202
Asher's choreography
Although the blackness made my eyes tire after a while the organic movement and fleshy qualites were like a long hot bath to my weary bones.

The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" (circular dance, see choreia) and "γραφή" (writing). A choreographer is one who creates choreographies.

Week 14 Dancer rejection of piece/Kelly's piece/ Torense's piece

http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/751666/an-open-letter-from-a-dancer-who-refused-to-participate-in-marina-abramovic's-moca-performance

Sara Wookey (dancer rejected the offer to perform with Abramovic at MOCA's gala):

Wither's says, "I want to suggest another mode of thinking: When we, as artists, accept or reject work, when we participate in the making of a work, even (or perhaps especially) when it is not our own, we contribute to the establishment of standards and precedents for our cohort and all who will come after us."

There is always so much angst for the dancers that are rejected time and time again at auditions.  I'm curious why it is such a huge deal that this dancer rejected this choreographer.  The working environment did not suit her comfort level period.  Seems like a respectable decision to me.  Seems odd she even needs to explain herself.  Just because you have a big name, and are a piece of history doesn't mean the dancer has to bow down to you.  I've done my sharing of bowing down and regretted it each time.  No more bowing down.  Perhaps it used to be ok to treat dancers like dirt, but i would never agree to do that piece, no matter who the artists was.

 http://vimeo.com/33440443
Kelly's choreographic work

Red lit dancers in black maneuver slowly, very slowly through a vacant bar. Vacant in liveliness, but not texture, the dancers moved with butoh stillness, enough for audience's muscles and eyes to rest, and their curiosity to dance.

http://www.youtube.com/user/41TLJ?feature=mhee#p/a/u/0/9zuJ3uaG-Ns

Torense's aesthetic piece

This specifically site specific piece exemplified the psychological space that can occur between two lovers in a relationship. By literally seeing the distance between these two dancers in this outside roman amphitheater staircase at Anne Arundel Community College, one felt the miles it takes to keep a relationship close.

Week 13 Smile America/Mare Heronimus/Abrams Article

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwEctagduKY
I can't believe that was me almost 20 years ago.  I think I want to cut my hair again.

Strong choreogrpahy: lifts, flips, throws, the constant weaving, braiding through space.  This trio created a whirl pool of energy, phyiscally and visually stimulating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Sbmt0xuOw

Something happens when we watch dance, when we allow ourselves to watch dance.  Our centers relax, our mind quiets, we feel the breath of the dancer through our lungs. For a moment we are dancing with them, sharing their heart.  If only the world would allow themselves to watch more dance.  Peace in the world would come.

What Should a Dance Critic Talk About When She Talks About Dance?

 November 15, 2011

Editor’s note: A shorter version of this article initially appeared in Washington City Paper on Oct. 21, 2011. 

 By Amanda Abrams

 What is the role of a dance critic?

 

Wow, what a great review. How brave the journalist was to take on the Pulitzer Prize winner in dance writing, challenging Sarah Kaufman to admit her disinterest in the field. Thank goodness there is someone like Abrams out there paying attention, passionately defending the need for the chronicling of new, contemporary/modern dance. 

Aesthetics Identity Flyer and Script

http://vimeo.com/32934900

Below is the Identity Flyer I made and distributed via email to friends.

IDENTITY

Who am I?

What are my fears?

What do I love?

Who loves me?

What makes me who I am?

This 10 minute improvisation explores our inner thoughts about our sense of self through text and movement.

When: Nov. 27, 2011 1:30pm and 2pm

Where: Outside of Down Dog Yoga Studio in Georgetown.

Who: Jen Stone, Asher Gelman, Megan Thompson.

1046 Potomac Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007

The studio is located off of M St. Potomac St. runs along the right side of Dean & Deluca. Down Dog Georgetown is the last building on the right just before Potomac St. meets the canal.  Parking Information: In Georgetown, there is plenty of street parking in neighborhood as well as parking garages and lots. The Colonial Parking Garages on the corner of Water and Potomac Streets and elsewhere in Georgetown offer a discounted $10 flat rate after 5 pm weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Title: IDENTITY

Intention: We are our thoughts.  This performance explores through text and movement our inner thoughts.  By answering questions posed by the performers, verbally and physically, and by listening and reacting to the other performers’ answers, the performers themselves will delve into the idea of what it is to be them, confronting their identity.   

These are the questions that were asked of the dancers and the audience during this piece.  The questions came from my stream of concious ideas on Identity.  These were all questions that I came up with that personally made me dig into my personal sence of self.

IDENTITY

1) Please state your Name, Occupation and Intention.

2) Please describe yourself.

3) Who do you love?

4) What or who do you fear?

5) What is your skill set?

6) What are you lacking?

7) Please state your magical name?

8) What do you want to be when you grow up?

Objects and tools needed:

 1 )Three dancers, doesn’t matter female or male, but a mixed group is best. 

2 )Three gray or white tee-shirts with one word on them each.  WHO, AM, I. 

3) A lab coat

4) clip board with attached pen

5) Sign announcing the title on poster or wooden board

Description:  The three dancers in shirts with lables WHO AM I stand in a horizontal line in front of a found audience.  After a moment they begin to move backwards and forwards, toward and away from the audience.  In time one dancer races up the lab coat which is placed at the downstage left corner of the space.  The other dancers make their way to the back of the space. The dancer puts on the lab coat and picks up the clip board. Then the dancer reads off one of the questions on the clip board in no particular order.  The other dancers one at a time dance or walk forward answering the questions asked.  This repeats with more questions being asked until one of the dancer replaces the one with the clip board.  The same process continues, questions being asked, answered in text and movement.  The piece ends when the dancers all come to stillness.

Where it is to be performed:  I had wanted it performed out side of a yoga studio because I believe yogis are on a path of self awareness and therefore might find interest in this idea of Identity.  I also being a yoga teacher felt like this could be gift from me to other yogis. Outside of Down Dog Yoga Center in George Town there is a safe place to perform,  a place to sit where audience and performers do not need to worry about cars.  Here is a letter I sent to the Down Dog Yoga Studio.  The plan was to perform outside of this studio after classes let out.  Traditionally students sit outside cooling off after a hot class.

Hello,

I’m a dance artist in the area as well as a yoga teacher.  Check out the announcement below.  I thought where else should I perform a dance piece on Identity, but outside a yoga studio where self-awareness is being practiced.  It would be great if you posted the attachment at your studio.  But either way poke your head out at 1:30pm and 2pm this coming Sunday and check us out.

Thanks,

Jen Stone

Evaluation: 

What happened:

 When we arrived at the site I looked around at other site options then my first intention outside the yoga studio, but still in the general area where the yogis could see us. We decided to perform it where I had originally thought, facing the yoga studio.  However, when the time came that students were to be coming out of the class no one but the manager walked out. "I must have looked at the times wrong I told her." It was true, my audience that I was counting on, was not coming out. Luckily I had always thought the first performance would be down by the studio and the second one would be up closer to the road, all very close together, so any other outside people that received my invite would easily find us. As it was no one else turned up for the show for the first time slot, except my professor. She suggested we perform it in front of the seated Dean and De'Lucca people sitting outside on the tables. Having seen that space before I decided this would be better than my other idea of up near the street. So we moved to that space.

This Identity Project is and never was a piece about a space. It was about an idea of expressing human thoughts as honestly as one could in the moment. So luckily changing the space had little effect on the piece itself. The first performance was thoughtful and introspective, but dragged on a bit. However, I appreciated the openness of the performers and realized when performers slow their physical movement sometimes this enables a more open performance quality. The second performance I added back the urgency of the running and speed, as well as tuned into the other dancers more and limited the size of the space. This urgency gave the piece a sense of importance and immediacy which I liked. The defined smaller space also kept the dancers closer together which then in turn made tuning into each other easier.

Individually Lori as a performer was very open and clear, she spoke authentically about her internal thoughts and seemed open to being in the moment. Her introspective thoughts, however, needed to be spoken slightly louder to be heard in this space. Asher I felt took a more false identity approach to the performance which I had allowed. I appreciated his strong energy and his loud voice. After the second performance when he repeated an answer from the first performance I realized my interest for this piece is to truly be in the moment versus repeating an answer that “worked” earlier. However, the skill to truly be in the moment for some can be extremely difficult. But with exercises to increase people's ability to be in the moment, it can and does happen and is something I would focus on prior to the performance next time.

For me I was interested in people's honest responses, and Asher's first response as a banker was honest in the fact that he was honestly hiding something by telling the world he was a banker. My allowing for the false identities was on purpose. I feel often when people are pressured to speak the truth they “get stuck”, so allowing an open door to their imagination was a way to keep the performers freely associating and open. Our identities are based on our thoughts and what happens in our heads is what makes us happy or miserable in our life, whether or not what is in our head is based on actual truth.  I am interested in people’s approach to identifying themselves.

We didn’t this time, but after performing again with a new cast I would like to discuss the “questions” with the performers. I like the improvisational aspect of the performers being asked the questions for the first time while performing.  Perhaps a way to make this more of a democratic process is to have the performers write down on the clipboard three questions they would like to ask without anyone seeing them beforehand. 

The clip board character was created because in order for myself to be truly in the moment I needed to not have to hold onto these particular quesitons in my mind.   I constructed a clip board lab coat person that would have the questions on the clip board for us to freely read when we were ready to take over that position.  I as a performer thouroughly enjoyed the lab coat position. It was a position of power, of control, of a non revealing character.  A safe position.  I enjoyed playing with the audience, speaking to the audience directly as well as speaking directly to the dancers. I questioned how far I could push the dancers in the position.  I believe next time I would aim for this piece to be 20 minutes long so more development of the relationshiop of the lab coat person and the dancers could be established.  The lab coat person could be an open minded scientists, an all knowing doctor, or someone as powerful as one who decides who gets an donor organ first.  The role of that character needs time to develop in each of our dancers minds.  If worked on again I would talk to the performers about that role.  Who is that role in their life.  How does it feel to be in that role.  What is the responsiblity of that role and how does that role show respect.   This role is in its infant form, but I'm very attracted to how it could develop.  Even perhaps as someone walking around into the audience and directly asking individual audience members these same questions.  It has the potentail to really break down the third wall.

Finding an ending in silence felt arbitrary in the dance. I would like to play with finding an ending by coming to a verbal climax instead where each of the performers are speaking loudly over each other coming to a verbal climax. 

 Audience Reaction: One audience member wanted it to continue longer.  Another remembered he had always wanted to learn how to fly.  Another enjoyed watching three separate performers not trying to connect, but being content in their separate Identities.  These are all responses that made me feel positive about the work.

 Future Possibilities: I would like to take this script to different populations and perform it in different countires.  I would like to work with non/dancers on this script.  It is an easy script to learn and I think has an interesting subject.  Most of the time people enjoy listening and learning about other people  and most of the time people like talking about themselves.  The process of identifying oneself is intersting to me.

Maida's Comments about outdoor performances:

"Remember that the human voice is easily lost unless you are in an acoustical site that helps. Otherwise the voice needs to be projected in a low range so it can/will be heard or megaphone or microphone. Music/sound is a good attractor to let people know something (performance) is going to happen. You can go through the area and have a “caller” “announcer” invite people to a performance in 10 minutes, etc."

Aesthetics 10-03-11

http://english.ifactories.ru/page/conference
When I first wrote about this I was feeling very insecure as an artist. Infact I would not identify myself as an artist and therefore would not attend one of these forums. However, after my show yesterday I have a renewed sense of confidence. Lots of my art friends that I revere where I lived loved the work and found it very creative and effective.  The audience seemed to enjoy the experience, with several being moved to tears.  I suppose I can try and slowly get used to this idea of me being an artist, not just a dancer.


http://www.dancemetrodc.org/
DC Metro is a wonderful local Washington DC organization that supports local dance artists in the area, providing advertisement, annual dance award ceremonies and other forms of community sponsorship. I was saddened to see that it doesn't venture out to Loudoun Cty where I live.

Week 12 Dance Article/Maida review/video Brian Buck installation/Helanius Piece

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/performance-and-dance/2011/10/21/not-what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-dance-films/-

An upbeat preview about an evening of dance video work by Maida Wither's. Having been at the event it was interesting reading this preview. Although I enjoyed the details of Maida's personal endeavors, I was missing imagery fromthe video's.  I wonder if previewers watch the piece before they write their preview or if most of the time there is only time for a phone conversation.  I'm interested in dance writing, so I'm curious.

I wrote some descriptions of the videos...

The upscale green screen was spectacled with 70's floral prints and pinks, offsetting Tveta's melancholy face and effortless dancing; whimsical meets iron curtain as the chain crisscrosses her bouncy path.

“Tuk” was an epilogue of southwest rock and ancient blue sky with the bare boned dancers bringing to life the petroglyphs with which they danced.


Brian Buck's Installation- Too slow to keep my attention, but perhaps that was Brian's point.  The view from his double window was warm and familiar, inviting the viewer to dip their toes into their own comforting river down the road.  However, like a friend, if not paid attention to, this environment too will disappear.

Helanius’ s Piece for Choreography- Strong imagery, the almost naked boy shaking deliberately is still in my bones. "Flesh" took an idea and stuck with it throughout the piece. I can still feel the first woman's more peaceful approach, and perhaps wish there was more of that experience in this work. However, as Helanius’ s program notes state, the dancer's interest seemed to be centered around this act of discomfort, irritation, uncomfortableness. "Flesh" made me as a viewer depressed at the state of these dancers "in their own skin," and made me question what specifically is in our society that is creating such  unrest.

Blog- Artful writing

I think I just figured out what kind of writing I want for my Blog.  Read below of Helanius’ work Trigger.  This writing is what I wrote in Kate’s class.  I thought the Blog was more diary writing, notes for me as an artist to refer to later. But I appreciate both.  For now on I will write diary notes first, my intial personal response, then I'll attempt to write a more artful comment, the kind of writing one might find in a dance review.

“The dancers moved through contemporary movements without abandoning themselves. The movement was their voice, not arbitrary actions laid upon them. The intricate vocabulary brought interest beyond pedestrian, taking the audience from real to artful, adding richness for the eye.”

Final Choreographic Script-Wolf Talk

http://vimeo.com/32096438

"What an amazing show, Jen.  Thank you!  Beautifully danced....sorry for all the tears, but it was incredibly moving.  Wasn't ready for it...the ending just blew my mind.  So powerful.  ---  What a wonderful gift, to tell stories like that through movement." - audience member Debbie Rouady-


Title- "Wolf Talk"- a contemporary dance piece inspired by human's relationship with our natural world.

Intention- To share with viewers an experience of being human that is more primal than our everyday way of existing in our world. By exploring the physical qualities of dogs and wolves in movement the piece encourages the audience to feel more connected to the animal world. The text is to demonstrate the lack of connection humans are experiencing with our food chain, consequently feeling more disconnected from our natural world.

Objects and Tools Needed- One male and one female dancer, two musicians, a violin, a drum, , and an in door/ outdoor space to perform.   Branches for the indoor space.

Description- A site specific work performed at Glen Echo Park, Bumper Car Pavilion Sunday Nov 13, 2011. There will be two performances, 12:25pm and 1:55pm, directly after the two morning puppet shows at the Puppet Theatre in the park across the way.  A director of the Puppet Theatre will let audience members know there is a free, kid friendly, dance performance right after the puppet show.

Wolf sounds as well as signs placed around the park will draw the crowd to the performance space. The dancers crawl out into the space to the sounds of wolves howling.  The dancers begin to move and dance and chase, lifting and tossing eachother in a playful puppy manner.  The female gets tickeled by the male and they begin a spoken game of 20 questions about where human's food comes from. They transform into chickens and then back to wolves for a more violent toss that ends in silence.  A slow, painful crawl toward eachother begins the last section of falling, lifing and carrying.  The piece ends in a silent howl, petting the earth and eachother. A bell signifies its over.  The piece is about 15 minutes long.

Evaluation/Conclusion- It went great. I had trouble deciding if we should perform in a grassy space or the bumper car pavilion, but the musicians were pulling for the BCP because of  better acoustics.  Once I brought the branches to transform the BCP I was no longer missing the outside feeling of the grassy spot.  It worked, audience members from the puppet show, as well as other people walking around the park came.  The wolf sounds did attract people, and they were curious about what was coming .  The dance went well, different feeling each show of course, but the content and musicians were strong.  Afterward, I think I should have said something more offiical.  I wish I had planned for that.  I said thank you, and asked them to sign our mailing list, but I was a bit shy about it. Maybe I should have opened it up for question and answer?  I could tell the audience was waiting for something to be said.  Maybe just being clearer at the end about thanking them for coming out.

Reactions from audience- one friend burst into tears, my folks loved it.  The first show a kid got scared and started crying after the violent tossing moment.  My friends said I was so expressive and appreciated the emotional richness.  I think in general folks were really happy they made the trip to see it, especially all of my Bluemonters good friends, who have never seen me dance.  One friend was impressed because she had never seen me move like that.  One friend emailed me and asked why the chicken?  I explained the natural food chain idea, but it reminded me of Maida's questioning.  I'm thinking perhaps in the whole evening work it will make more since.  Again, though, questions of how now am I going to make this a part of the whole evening work.  The discussion part in the middle of this dance, maybe it needs to be more, or less...

Now I feel like I can perform out where I live.  I needed this first big show to be a little farther from home, I wasn't ready for all of my friends, yoga students etc to see me create.  But now after doing this show, I believe I can create and feel good about it.  Even if there are some things I need to work on, I'm still not quite finished with the sounding, painful solo section yet, in general it was a very successful show and all who came seemed to really appreciated it.  The musicians and dancer Brian, were  very happy to be apart of "Wolf Talk".  Thanks to my wolf Daisy for inspiring it all and for this creative process to be a healing process for me for letting her go.  I'm going to make a nice video of the dance and send it to Mission:Wolf  where she lives, and to friends that couldn't see it for a christmas present.

More thoughts a week later- I need to be careful to relax my face.  I sometime's appear to be smiling even where it is inappropriate, like it is a nervous smile or something.  I'm wondering about during the painful solo, if I should have the violinist make scratchy sounds on his violin to add or instead of my sounding.  After talking with a good friend of mine, I realizied I did miss an opportunity to educate the public in terms of discusing why I did this work and sharing my process etc.  Next time I'm going to have a question answer segment, before after, or in the middle of my show to answer folks questions if they have them.

photos by Richard L.Clark

 

Week 11 2 Video/Zap's kickstarter project video/Helanius Trigger- Dance Article Trisha Brown

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/53256689/the-unearthing
A best friend moves ahead.  Takes the next step as an artist.  Ask's the world to support her endeavors, describing finally what she has been doing, all along. Bringing together all her talents, organziations and beliefs and ask boldy, personally for their help.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/2860d6d4-0557-11e1-a3d1-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1d7HKymtN-
Trisha Brown Article
Labeling with language can limit a dance.  Leaving the dance to do the describing is better.  Meticulous unveiling, waiting for the vapor to form, having faith that something will appear.


http://www.youtube.com/user/hjwdance

Helanius, a dancer friend, a colleague in graduate school, thank you for bringing this world to my own. Beautiful and tragic. I loved the lighting effects, really creating structure and environment. I loved the sets in the background, how they changed with the lighting.


The dancers moved through contemporary movements without abandoning their own selves. The movement was their voice, not arbitrary actions laid upon them. The intricate vocabulary brought interest beyond pedestrian, taking the audience from real to artful, adding richness for the eye.

Wolf Rehearsal 10



http://vimeo.com/31728691

I watched Brian do it without me and it was great.  A great tool to use, for me as the director and for him as a dancer. 

Below is the listing of the dance for the musicians.  We spaced the dance in the sunny spot and the rainy spot at GE today.  Really fun.  Wonder if this piece is going to be toured to area schools.  Wasn't my intial intention, but it is sort of morphing into that kind of possiblity.

Gary gathered the wolf sounds from Mission:Wolf.  They are perfect.

1)  Wolf noise-turned on when puppet show's first people step out the door.

2) Brian and I (B and J) enter the space on all fours looking around.

3) Wolf sounds fade and we begin howling.  Might be that the cue for this is us getting to center center and you two fading down the music.  We'll have to see how this works.

4) We howl in silence,

5) Then begin contact improvisation (CI-the rolling around form) with your MUSIC.   this section is shorter than before. 

6) We come to standing and start pulling away from each other until we let go and begin the "physical section".

7) Physical section includes, lifting and running and lifting again until finally we do the last lift which is Brian in a handstand and I catch him and push him down.

8) We go to all fours again and walk around each other slowly, this goes into the rubbing the belly/laughing section, into talking section.

9) Talking section goes into grotesteque faces into acting like a chicken into Brian turning into a wolf and chasing me.

10) Physical section happens again, with physical lifting, chasing into us lieing on the floor panting. 

11) This next section is my solo with Brian slowly walking, we had talked about this section being in silence. I am now vocalizing here as well.

12) This section ends with Brian petting me.

13) We do contact impro again a bit to standing, I fall and he pulls me up, this happens three times, then he picks me all the way up like a baby.  He walks I fall down, he picks me back up over his shoulder twice until he lies me down. 

14) I pet the floor, I think in silence, he silently howls.  When my hand stops moving and his silent howls stops.  The piece is done and Gina rings the bell.

Week10- Dance Article/Bill T. Jones website/ Joe Good video/Zap McConnel @hand productions

http://www.billtjones.org/new/bills_blog/2010/12/oh_what_a_night.php
 "I am left with these questions: What next? What do I/we (NYLA) want to influence, how and why?"

Mission Statement
The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company nurtures the art of dance, educates the public, and promotes collaboration among members of the allied arts of music, theater, new media, visual arts, etc. and the communities in which they work.

http://www.joegoode.org/ video home page
Shadow, light, color, costume, miniumal, simple music repetitive...Soft, Simple, and Clear

 

http://player.vimeo.com/video/12972433

The magic of the plastic bags, the feminity of the dancers, the boldness of the music choices.  Mystery, layered with hope and clarity.

 

Wolf Talk rehearsal 9



http://vimeo.com/31373269

Asher told me to do some editing, take out everything except for what I am willing to fight for.  This was just what I needed to hear.

Maida mentioned- adding another animal, ballet section?

Helanius- go back to why you wanted to do this piece in the first place.

Added River and Sky walking across during the sounding section holding a banner saying "We are all one family."  I'll bring it on Wed and we will see how it works.



Notes from watching the video, after the rehearsal.

Try walking in like wolves again, during wolf sounds, then drinking water, then sit back then howl. then wolves sound fade, then music begins as we begin CI
1) beginning seciton needs to move along quicker, less CI go into finding hands, get rid of pauses
2) less suspensions for jen on fast section
3) brian don't look up when you jump over me-
4) talking section, brian shows impulse to chase and that is when i run, brian, go a little faster,
on diagonal let brian do two things to me, not just one, he grabs me and that is what brings me into that lift around his head.
4)  Brian doesn't sound just rolls, just jen sounds. longer diagonal for that to develop
5) Brian pets first
6) lifting seciton nice, brian has to initate all the lifts
7) jen only pets at end, not brian,
8) no howling at end, maybe brian howls in silence
Jen

Week 9/Maida's piece Pillow Talk/Women in Love..Dance Article/ Beyoncev/s Keersmaker/The Playground

MAIDA WITHERS
DANCE:FILMS – AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENING

DANCE FILM SHORTS / NEW MEDIA / PERFORMANCE

Pillow Talk- I loved the intimate, sensual, universal meaning of the pillows.  I loved the dancing in white, with legs and neck.  I loved the act of just being, no story line, just moveming simply with pillows, the piece existed in Giselle's face.

Women in Love Leap Into Elevator Shafts

By GIA KOURLAS
Published: October 23, 2011

"What’s missing is a world created from the inside out."-when concept is greater than body involvement. 

"moving with the quiet focus of a small animal used to hiding from predators." would be interesting to put that quality on my body.

Beyonce v/s Keersmaker video-

I just saw the clips side by side.  Wow, does Beyonce have no integrity?  Surely she knew better than to do that?!

http://vimeo.com/20126770
Daniel Burkdholder's the Playground Ad Libitum
I loved the non concept, the non linear, the open dancing, the beautiful simplicity, the video art, the music, I feel like I'm trying to make a story, I hate making stories, its uninteresting to me.

New Exploration- lighting, music, close up

http://vimeo.com/31731741

Title- Me and the Moon

Intention- to video tape a dancer moving sensually close up, playing with the light source, inspired movement from the music.
Resources- video camera, small corner in a house, dancer, music source, light source

Description- Dancer's movement is inspired by the music and the hanging light source. 

Evaluation- At first I was interested in a different kind of movement/ and attitude, but once I found this music by Cassandra Wilson, Harvest Moon, the piece unfolded.  I'm not sure I've ever made a dance piece based on a piece of music first.  Usually I add the music in later.  But this felt great and I loved this piece of music.  I kept the close up video idea, in the corner and the light idea.  I would like to play more with this light exploration. I've never paid much attention to lights, mainly content and physicallity have been my focus, so to switch to these other elements felt like such a relief.  I didn't have to create everything. I could collaborate with these other compositinoal ideas.

I'm interested in this piece, I might add it into my thesis.  Somehting nice about just moving in the light of the moon, to beautiful music.

Dancer and Choreographer Obvious

http://vimeo.com/31376800

Title Dancer and Choreographer Obvious

Resources  Poster with words Dancer and Choreographer written, 20 sheets of blank white paper, 4 magic markers to write with, and assistant to help with the writing. Video camera and tri pod. 

Description The performer holds the piece of paper up to the audience and asks if anyone can read the words and tell what they mean.  Then the performer begins to dance, improvising, and making up movement and talks to the audience about what it means to be a dancer.  Then the performer begins to repeat a movement saying "I like this movement, can you name it for me?" and asks the audience to label the movement and the assistant then writes what the audience says on a piece of paper.  The performer does this again, dancing, choosing a particular movement to repeat and have the audience name the movement with the assistant writing it down.  This happens four times total.  The assistant uses a black pen to write with.

Now the performer takes a pile of blank sheets of papers and asked the audience to choose words that describe movement qualities, for instance, fast, slow, jagged, flowy and the performer writes down these words on separate sheets of paper using a blue marker.

 Then the performer takes another pile of blank sheets of paper and asked the audience to choose different emotional qualities: sad, happy, peaceful etc and the   performer writes down these words on separate sheets of paper using a red of marker.

Then the audience gets to pick one movement written in black- one movement quality written in blue, one emotional quality written in red and the performer performs that choosen movement.  This is repeated several times, having the audience put those "choices" together for the performer to perform.  Then the choices are strewn together into a phrase.

The performer will ask audience members to come up and perform these movemetn choices.

 Conclusions/Evaluation We made up dance phrases from choosen movements that we previsously named, and named physical and emotional qualites.  The ending piece of choreography that we all came up with was 1) running in a squiggly circle, crazily, 2) laying down an egg peacefully to the rhythm of the construction workers hammering next store 3) flying like a wave.  Simple choreography that these dancers performed beautifully, we did it in solos, duets, trios and quartets.  This was a great event.  The children jumped up to dance with me within minutes.  They were intesterd in making movement choices as choreographers as well as performing those choices as dancers.

Wolf talk rehearsal 8

http://vimeo.com/30921993

Rehearsal was fine.  Looking at the poorly shot video I had these thougths.

Why is it called Wolf Talk, doesn't look very wolfy too me.

I appreciated the slowing down of the griping of hands, but need to keep the fast section fast.

Need a little variation on the fast section, maybe not unison.

Still figuring out the ending.  Think maybe simply three lifts then let down.  Wrote more notes for Brian, will work them on Wed.

Will be performed in the round in the Bumper Car Pavillion.

Need to-

1) write blurb for Glen Echo website

2) Make flyers to be passed out at Puppet Show

Week 8- 2 videos/ Pina Film/ Endangered Species dance videos /1 Dance Article-Pina Bausch from Maida

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqC9cCkqEX4&feature=player_embedded
Repetition, and stark imagery can be so powerful.  Simple costumes, black, white, red, breasts. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtZBJsi56L4
I grew up a jazz dancer, have danced for clubs in cages, on pedastools.  I've never made a modern dance piece expressing my self in that way.  What is that about?  Why does modern dance not allow that kind of expression, atleast the release technique I grew up doing.  Modern dance's history, trying to be something other?I remember when I saw Bill T. Jone's do a solo and he moved his hips seductiviely, I was so surprised, and so was the audience.


"Her art was reading people and their essence, and if you want, their soul, and reading that through the way their bodies express it."  I think Pina observed people, I don't really do that.  When one sits back you get to see and see deeply.  I feel, and I'm present, but I don't often sit back and observe...

Wolf Talk rehearsal 7

http://vimeo.com/30456489

We performed it twice. I learned from last time hurting my back that I wasn't up for more than that.  This videoed version is the second version.  After the first one with critiques from the musicians and my husband Jason we tweaked it and made some more changes.

Next rehearsal is this coming Wed in the acutal space. We will look at costumes, and for the first time run the piece in it's actual performance space where we will be performing it Nov 13.

Week 7- 2 Videos Martha Clarke/and 1 Dance Article Review LIz Lerman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPyLZA53YmE
Martha Clarke-Garden of Earthly Delights.
Wow, I want to put my musicians into the dance, in costumes, as part of the set, not set off watching us dance, but part of the scene.  Hmmm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc2q9tChUxU&feature=related
Martha Clarke-Etudes of Italy
Nuts with the masks, again, how costumes/mask's create a disturbed mood, the dancers dancing backwards.  Must be odd to perform it.  Interesting, very moody.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/23/AR2011012303877.html
Wow, after all these years I can't believe change is in the air.  (I wonder why she never liked me.)  I know the feeling of wanting more creative freedom, I think its very cool she's handing it over to someone else, passing the torch, but allowing them to burn their own flame. 

Week 6- 2 Videos John Jasperse/Jerome Bell and 1 Dance Article Review/ Gang Gang Dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDyiFkB58Po&feature=relmfu
John Jasperse
I loved the smoke coming out of his shirt, how to create mood, use of props, use of propy costumes, makes me want to create a costume first and then a dance from that.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC2gYasnD4k
Jerome Bell
"It is not art unless it is provacative."


http://www.sfbg.com/noise/2011/10/12/live-shots-prince-rama-gang-gang-dance-independent
Gang Gang Dance, a music band that I must check out.  I need to find good music to rehearse to. It enlivens me soo much!

Aesthetics week 7- Australian org/artists comments

Assignment 10_17_11
Please read through the entire 2011 catalog for this amazing organization in Australia.  Go into each document and familiarize yourself with this each contemporary performance artist's work.  Please list each artist and make one sentence comment on the intention as you see it or as you read about it.  This is an intense (exist ence you might say) Festival.

http://existenceperformanceart.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/exist-ence-2011-catalogue-now-available-to-download/
>> View/Complete Assignment: 10_17_11
As a dancer you might extend these ideas that are performative.

http://adamgruba.blogspot.com/Adam Gruba- Poland
Displaying the unsaid
What can't be said with words.


www.axisweb.org/artist/agnesnedregard- http://www.a-n.co.uk/interface/reviewers/single/86452
Norway
,"The work is thoughtful, with narrative without being linear, chaotic but oddly comprehensible, not unlike a quite enjoyable dream."
Props, I want to use props.

www.groupAdance.com-
Alyssa Lee Wilmot
USA
"an experimental dance and performance company committed to placing dance and ACTION art in close contact with other forms. "
"a/=a is a self portrait experiment: what happens when we document personal real emotional experiences? "

Andi & Sun
Australia

How does language inhibit real meaning.  I would love to see these folks perform!  To me this idea is of essence to my existence.  This idea is why I often feel more at home with animals than I do with the human being.


http://bbbjohannesdeimling.de/index.php?/arbeiten/leaking-memories-6/
BBB Johannes Deimling
Germany

I would love to see this guy, no dance, but props, actions, interest.  Leaking memories is a great title, reminded me of my apple piece.  Makes me think there is a huge world out there, maybe I don't have to keep making dance pieces, maybe I can see what possiblities happen when I don't rely on "dance".

http://www.beatrizalbuquerque.web.pt/
Beatriz Albuquerque Portugal
Back Bite-
"This video-performance piece plays with the idea that in Crisis Times the dialogue happen in the flesh, it is created and branded in the self. With this in mind 4 persons (Gemuce Azul, Binu Bashar, Tiago Borges e Alonso Turqueza) were chosen by Beatriz Albuquerque to be backbite as an active critical communication of what is happening to the world"

***********http://www.dysonindustries.com.au/medeleven/index.html
Clare Dyson Australia

Live Performance

We shared the swing idea, she took it much further, this piece looks amazing. I love the starkness of it.

http://www.wix.com/francisoshaughnessy/performance

Francis O’Shaughnessy
Canada
Performance on film

Fragility, curiousity, stressful, he killed the fish.

http://www.fransvanlent.nl/
Frans van Lent
The Netherlands
Performance on film Henrik Hedinge


Henrik Hedinge Sweden
Performance Documentation

Jake Sun & Annie Bowman Australia Live Performance
Though at times disparate in their engagement and aesthetics, all are united through a sense of the human condition.

I frame my practice loosely as conceptual art. Many of the questions raised by conceptual art and artists are significant concerns of my own such as ‘what kind of thing can qualify as art?’, ‘must art be beautiful?’ and ‘what is the role of the artist?'.


http://www.igneous.org.au/
James Cunningham
Australia
Live Performance
science, technology, where they come together through the human condition.

Jamie McMurray
USA
Live Performance

John G Boehme Performance on Film

John G. Boehme’s early art practice included painting, sculpture, performance video and digital technology, installation and photography. Boehme describes his recent work as "trans-disciplinary" employing performance, video, audio and objects simultaneously. Boehme is not constrained to any particular creative modality.

http://www.ladykitt.co.uk/
Lady Kitt UK Streaming Performance

How do people view themselves in relation to art..

Wolf Talk rehearsal 6

http://vimeo.com/30389103

This was the second run through and work through of this newly formed work.  We made some changes to what we did last week and I look forward to studying the video which is having trouble downloading, but I have hope it will work.

We decided on a new indoor space, which is lovely, worked on different ideas for bringing natural elements into the space.  Having people take from a bowl when they enter and place a special stone on the edge of the space. I'm collecting footage this weekend from Colorado, not for a movie but for a loop of natural habitat.  We had given up that idea if this piece was going to be done outside, but not that we are confirming it needs to be done inside due to weather in mid Nov. we would like to have some sort of natural footage besides the sticks and leaves we bring in.

Would love any and all feedback. 

Our dress we are aiming for brown and grays.

Hopefully the video will come soon.

Next rehearsal will be at my house again with the musicians, will be interesting to see what they think of the changes to the improvised form.

Aesthetics week 6- Yellow Tape Script

http://vimeo.com/30165391

Title: Within-Comfort or Confined?

Resources: roll of 3" wide yellow tape; scissors; large sheet of poster board; black magic marker pen

Intention: to express the impact of societal limitation on the dancer in a confined space of a taped square

Preparation: Write the title of your work on the poster paper and place it near the performance so it informs people about your performance.

Instructions: one dancer performs movement inside a 2 1/2 to 3 foot square-shaped box (yellow tape) on the floor / sidewalk / other space for 10 to 15 minutes that reflects the confort or conflict with limitation as defined by the performer. 

Conclusion: 10 to 15 minute time period.

Review and recommend changes: I performed this movement installation in an old Mill.  It was called Art in the Mill and it's an annual gallery put on by area artists in and around Loudoun County and beyond.  It was great to have a friend help me with the videing and to just be another eye. Thank you Anna! 


I do love working in galleries, I've done it many times before, but not with this script. I became the spirit of the waterwheel. At times its insistence was exhausting and felt very confining. Interesting, when I was first in there I wasn't tuned into the water wheel's rhythm, but once I started moving, it was clear we were "within" this dance together.


It was great to have a friend help me with the videing and to just be another eye. Thank you Anna! I do love working in galleries, I've done it many times before, but not with this script. I became the spirit of the waterwheel. At times its insistence was exhausting and felt very confining. Interesting, when i was first in there I wasn't tuned into its rhythm, but once I started moving, it was clear we were "within" this dance together.


Changes- I wish the posts weren't in the way of the videoing the whole time.  I wish the space was smaller,  like 1 foot by 1 foot, 3 feet by 3 feet  wasn't very small.  I felt safe not confined, but interestingly enough an audience member said she felt sorry for me because I had so little space to move in. 

Aesthetics week 5- Video viewing

VIDEO VIEWING:View the following videos and define what you see as the possible intention of the performance and its meaning for you in your work. POST COMMENTS ON YOUR BLOG BY OCTOBER 10, 2011.

http://www.revelinnewyork.com/noemie (Noemie LaFrance)

Wow I wonder how she began?  I wonder how she got 10,000 people to that pool in Brooklyn.  I wonder how she became the artist she is.  The roof top piece I believe was exploration.  The garage piece, I believe was creating a sence of voyerism, of mystery, watching a drama play out infron of you like a movie.  The stairwell piece seemed to be inspired by design.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llBijMDoL7s (Mona Hatoum - Variations on Discord and Divisions (originally 1984)
Not liking what they were reading in the news so they tried to wash it off.  Then the water they used to clean it off killed them.  Ignorance will kill you?

http://vimeo.com/18952957 (Nigel Rolfe - The Rope) after watching, go to this site and see if you understood what he was intending http://vimeo.com/18966117 bound, repetive, the usefullness of being bound,


http://vimeo.com/17973882 (Nigel Rolfe - The Pool)
uncomfortable, waiting to die?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1LWC39Ehm4 (Robert Ashley; poet) or select another of his works on youtube.

I was very uncomfortable with watching this.  I had to turn the video off.  Something about his voice, the timing of the video footage, it felt so disconnected to anythin I am comfortable with.  Perhaps that was his point.