The Devil (or Something) Is in the Details...

End of week 4! Fourth solo completed! And, yes: yet another process to assimilate and ponder.

Wednesday, June 26th

I have rarely used video while creating a new piece, but Chris videotaped every day - not necessarily everything, but a lot of what we did. She finds that watching the footage helps the process come more quickly than normal.
We worked on shifts of state: geographical, psychological, mental and emotional. Is the cause external or internal? Also, we used the idea of being in two places at once or bringing the shift to you: for example, being present (or, in the present) and thinking about the past.
Chris created a spatial structure, using the diagonal from the up right to the down left corner. The solo's narrative seemed more-or-less linear at first, but then shifted (!), by the use of inserts. The disruptions evoke emotional shifts, time shifts, shifts in place, shifts in attention. We started "constructing" my childhood home, then worked on a "displacement of self," with me "leaving bits behind." The next part involved two versions of the map of my physical journeys, one filling the space and one on the spot. The inserts came from the videos of the improvisations we had done Monday and Tuesday: turning in place, pointing to the ceiling, touching my face, shooing fireflies (the feather touch), blowing a kiss, circling the head with the hands... Quite a progression. The ending was left open for the time being.
Luke left us in the afternoon. We are still "here." He will work "there."

Thursday, June 27th

Today was mostly about paring down, discarding, going deeper into each moment, using stillness and my imagination. Everything began from the feeling - physical and/or emotional - that provokes the movement, that changes from one activity to the next. Working on really seeing each location, and putting a person, a place, a reason to go there. Going into fewer rooms in the apartment, being less literal, not miming objects or actions.
[Everyone in this project seems to be drawing on acting skills, in addition to dance.]
The showing at the end of the day elicited some really perceptive comments about life's journey, embodiment, layers, nuances, noticing interruptions and shifts in time, place and situation. Frank talked about how we take people with us, bringing everyone we've ever meet along wherever we go.

Friday, June 28th - last day working with Chris

Chris used the feedback on Friday to work on a couple of elements: in the shifting section, she asked for more stillness, fewer shifts, and some "incomplete" movement. We then ran the entire solo on the original diagonal, the opposite diagonal (up left to down right), and the opposite diagonal reversed (down right to up left). The feeling from the "inside" was totally different in each case. I performed a mirror image of some of the movement, in order to be able to continue on the main path; some parts happened on the same side. My relationship to Bill, who sits at his console table triggering the music, changed each time. Chris decided to keep the original diagonal, but it was revealing to do the solo in different directions. Keep that thought!

When we had finished, I ran Chris's solo again, then Matthew's, Steinvor's and Frank's. Still not sure of the ultimate order. Still have not had the time/space/mental space to work on responses. We have the weekend off - going to Inverness on Saturday for the afternoon. Ian arrives Sunday night. He will work with Bill and me next week, making the final Here, There and Everywhere solo. Then, back to Edinburgh for the last few days of work and the performance at Dance Base.