Afterthoughts

The showing/performance at Dance Base went VERY well. The overflow crowd (amazing for a Thursday at 9:00 pm!) was very enthusiastic. We got excellent, positive feedback, and the atmosphere was warm and appreciative. The Dance Base staff set up the beautiful studio 1 in record time, with a Marley (lino) floor, four light trees and sound system. Because of the late sunset, we started with outside natural light filtering in through the skylights and side windows, but the stage lights definitely were necessary later on in the evening.
Sheila and Doug MacDougall took photos during the rehearsal beforehand. Here are a few:

choreography: Matthew Hawkins

choreography: Matthew Hawkins

choreography: Steinvor Palsson

choreography: Steinvor Palsson

choreography: Frank McConnell

choreography: Ian  Spink

my response to Steinvor and Matthew

choreography: Christine Devaney

For my choreographic contribution, I decided to create a sort of prelude (set-up when the audience enters) and then two response pieces (one for the work at Dance Base, the other for The Shed). Those need work! My next step is to look at the order again, as well as my response to Frank, Chris and Ian, which, especially, was not satisfying. Suggestions for changes, from others, include: inserting a short intermission in the 50-minute solo, and also joining all my responses together into one. We didn't have the time or equipment to design lights, so that is yet another element to consider - one that I believe will help refine and define the piece even better. Feedback is still coming my way, so the process is far from over. I will also be looking for other venues for future performances, in the UK and the US, in the coming year. To be continued...

Week 6: Back in Edinburgh

Farewell to the Highlands! Bill and I took the train from Dingwall to Edinburgh on Saturday - a much more peaceful ride than the one out three weeks ago (no stag party celebrants this time!).

Firth of Forth Bridge, from the train

The rest of the weekend was restful, with a long walk in the Pentland Hills with Susie and Archie, and then the Wimbledon men's final on Sunday (fun being in the UK for that, especially with Andy Murray's win bringing the title to Britain for the first time in 77 years!).

Susie and Archie, setting out on our walk

 

Obligatory sheep

Castlelaw Hill Fort, near Rosslin, dating from the Iron Age

And now, this week, I will finish my responses to what we've done during the past five weeks. Having decided not to follow my original structure (one response for each of the other choreographers) because of length and overall rhythm of the extended solo, these "dance postcards" will provide a Here, There and Everywhere with a prelude and two brief interruptions. During the last response, in addition to a choreographic addition, I will also clear the stage area of all props and set pieces, providing a clear and open space for the solo Chris created. Not completely sure how all this will happen, nor what sort of statement the responses will provide. More process. More thought and looking and sensing. Letting intuition be my guide.

Week 5: with Ian Spink

Ian Spink and I met in 1978, shortly after he moved to the UK from Australia. He was dancing in the English National Opera production of Brecht/Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins, choreographed by Richard Alston. I was in London for the summer, teaching and performing at the Laban Centre. Subsequently, our paths crossed on numerous occasions, and we have worked together a few times. He created ZARaBandA for me in 2006. In 2007 we worked on his video/dance project 26 Solos. I asked him to make one section of Here, There and Everywhere; he was available and, due to circumstance, his week happened to fall at the end of "other choreographers'" time. The schedule for the entire project turned out to be perfect. Ian also somehow managed to stick to the original plan that everyone make a 5-minute piece. The result is, I believe, startling and evocative.

Monday

Ian Spink

Ian knows me longer than any of the others in the project. The solo he made references my love of Scotland, as well as a sense of "home" and place. The process of building this short piece was mysterious in some ways, and also absolutely direct. The evening before we began work in the studio, because I wanted to pique Ian's imagination, I mentioned that, thus far, no one had used the piece of fabric that carries the costume elements for Matthew's contribution. From that starting point, Ian asked me for what places in Scotland I had been. He then selected a few and asked me to imagine that the cloth, which we put on the table used in Frank's part of the solo, was a map of Scotland, and I had to find the places on this map. We decided to ask Frank to record the place names, so that we would hear a Scot, and not an Australian or an American accent. Then, Ian asked me if I had ever made bread; I said yes; so, kneading became part of the piece. At one point, he asked me to climb onto the table and lift the cloth to cover myself, then get off the table and continue to manipulate the cloth until it was a very small bundle, then place the bundle on the floor. From all of these simple actions, I felt a very powerful piece forming. And, we had made almost five minutes! The challenge then started: how slowly and smoothly could I perform this movement?
Bill and Ian had done a residency at The Shed, and named their newly-founded company after the road that is next to the studio: Airfield (http://airfieldarts.org.uk/about.html#.UdSbGVO9yNw). Bill had been recording the sounds of the trash compressors across the street before Ian arrived, thinking he might want to use these sounds for his contribution to Here, There and Everywhere, as was the case. Transducers also appeared! (but, they won't be used in this piece...)

Tuesday

In the morning, after I warmed up we continued to work on the quality of the movement, and find a coordination with the music Bill had generated. Almost seven minutes!
Next, we all - Ian, Frank, Bill and myself - wanted to look at running orders for all five solos, plus my responses. Mathematically, there are 120 possible orders of the five solos. Bill and I had a lengthy conversation Monday evening about ways to tie everything together. Projections would not be possible at Dance Base. What about televisions? I wasn't convinced they would fit in with the dance and dancing I had. What about doing something with the audience members' cell phones? Bill thought that could be interesting, but gimmicky (also, we both questioned the relevance to the work as a whole). I had recorded bus rides in Edinburgh, and from Dingwall to Inverness, and the train from Edinburgh to Inverness, and wanted to use some of the sounds; we also had a recording of Steinvor telling a story in Icelandic. By this time, I had decided that, rather than making a response piece for each choreographer, I would do three. I could do a sort of prelude, rearranging furniture and props as though I had just moved into a new home. This potentially will make placing the furniture and other objects for some of the solos look less like we need stage hands we don't have. Then, using the recording of Steinvor, I could combine my response to her and Matthew. Finally, there would be a response to the three weeks - and three choreographers - at The Shed.
We did two running orders on Tuesday. They were okay, but neither struck me as ideal (if there is such a thing!). I was pleased to have danced everything twice, but was certainly tired! We went back to the apartment, and Ian cooked a delicious dinner. More conversation followed. I went to bed early, still pondering what all of this could be.

Bill, Frank and Ian - tired after I had danced  
Here, There and Everywhere a second time

Wednesday

Two more runs, two more orders. The second one feels the best, and I need to make two (short) choreographic responses. I like the furniture/prop pre-set at the beginning, and Bill will make a montage of my travel recordings. Ian found another piece of fabric and drew a map of Scotland on it.

Ian and the map of Scotland

Tomorrow, we will continue our work individually before running the piece as it now is and then doing a showing at the end of the day. That will give us Friday to look at any changes before heading back to Edinburgh and three more days of work at Dance Base, before the performance on the 11th.
I am tired, but very satisfied, all around.

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.

Week 4: with Chris and Luke

 Day 1: Monday, June 25th

I knew when I asked Christine Devaney if she would like to be a part of Here, There and Everywhere that she would contribute in a very different way from everyone else. Chris works very closely with Luke Sutherland and several other artists, improvising and building in a more-or-less instinctive way. Her physical and mental intelligence are sharp, delicate but strong, and crystal clear. She has a vivid and luminescent presence as a performer, writes touching scripts, and uses space and time in deliberate and unusual ways. As with Frank, we met just five years ago and do not know each other well. So, this week is another one of exploration and discovery shared with a recent acquaintance with whom I feel a real bond.

Chris Devaney - day 1 at The Shed

We began the day separately, each of us warming up in the space: Chris and me on the dance floor, Luke with his guitar, violin and numerous pedals - each performs a different function (echo, distortion, sustain...).

Luke's pedals

Meanwhile, Bill went outside to record environmental sounds - mostly from the trash heap equipment - lots of metal being dumped and moved around - that might get included in the sound track for Ian Spink and/or me. We will see about that later on in the process.
After warming up, improvisation: in pairs and with all three. First, Chris and I moved together, rolling across the floor, then offering each other resistance or impetus, responding and contrasting the energy and direction of the touch. Luke joined us with his music and presence in the space. In a four-minute threesome, one of us led, the second person followed the leader, and the third person followed the second person; we then switched roles. Finally, Luke and I did a six minute improvisation: he led for two minutes, I led for two minutes, and the we had a movement and music conversation for two minutes.
After a short break, Chris shared her research about the word displacement, as used by psychologists: transferring emotions from one object onto another to hide the true nature - such as, a security blanket; also, this displacement is often an unconscious shift of inappropriate emotions, ideas or wishes. "Displacement activities" include scratching one's head as a substitution for making a decision. These actions can bring comfort, or relieve stress. They often cover anxiety.
We also talked about the notion of displacement from oneself: "I'm not quite myself today." The cause of this feeling can be external or internal, enforced or chosen. It contrasts the feeling of being placed or grounded, at one with the world.
Finally, displacement is associated with vectors: straight paths from one point to another (as opposed to circuitous wanderings).
We started from the body and music, improvising on the idea of displacement from oneself. We added the action of pulling sleeves and pant legs up and down, touching the face, brushing the hair away from the forehead.
That's a lot of improvisation, a lot of thought and emotional investment. A curious and satisfying day, with a supportive, safe feeling in the studio. We spend the evening together, over a dinner I make at the apartment Bill and I are sharing for the three weeks at the Shed.

Day 2: Tuesday, June 26th

We continue our improvisation activities after warming up separately for a good hour. Luke plays violin while Chris and I alternate: one of us, eyes closed, follows the touch of the other. We do this for about an hour, then write our thoughts down, and then share them.
I list what we did: feather touch on ear, sternum, solar plexus, head; squeezing hips or shoulders, followed by a movement of compression and confinement; elbows out; the body folding and unfolding; walking in a circle; gentle; slow music that suddenly becomes a waltz; holding waists; holding a hand and guiding the torso; repeating movements in a pattern until it becomes rhythmic; losing balance; the direction and/or energy of the touch gives the direction or energy of the response movement.
Chris mentions the listening quality; being held by Luke in music and space; being taken by Luke's music; trusting uncertainty; internal/external; there/not there; here/not here.

Luke Sutherland

Luke and Chris

 Luke says that the music wouldn't exist as it was without whatever is going on in the room; he feels he was playing a feedback loop, that he was channeling the energy of the room.
We talked about the idea of letting go while holding on - or, of letting go and staying present.
After a break, Chris brought out some paper and pastels. She asked me to draw my journey through the world. It came out looking like a sort of Mercator projection of the Northern Hemisphere:

So many places...

The next series of improvisations involved reproducing the "map" in movement - first in space (displacing myself), and then indicating places with my body. Another series of improvisations recalled the place where I grew up, with the addition of a "displacement" improvisation from Monday. Getting somewhere, slowly but surely!
Bill and I also ran Frank's solo twice. Keeping everything going, accumulating a fabulously diverse collection of movement, music and ideas. What a wonderful, rich process!

A Week at the Shed with Frank and Bill

What an adventure! I had seen one piece by Frank McConnell five years ago: parallel/parallels. The work was performed on Dance Base's Edinburgh Festival Fringe program. The same summer, I created Homing/In, which was also performed at Dance Base. Something clicked then. Christine Devaney, who will work with me next week, was Associate Choreographer for and performed in parallel/parallels.

This week, Frank, Bill and I worked at The Shed, a Nissen hut owned by John McGeoch, Artistic Director of Arts in Motion (http://artsinmotion.co.uk/artsinmotion/). Inside are a large black box studio, an additional work space in back, an office for administrative work, storage space, a small kitchen and rest rooms.

The Shed

Across the road

Outside the front door

Frank and I had seen each others' work and have had very friendly chats - but, unlike Steinvor or Matthew, whom I have known since the 1980s, we hardly know each other. So, we took time to talk and just be in the space together. We did our own warm-ups, worked for an hour or so, had coffee (and sweet snacks), worked another hour, had an hour lunch break, worked for three hours - some days with another break for tea ... another rhythm from the two weeks in Edinburgh.

The array of teas and mugs at The Shed

We quickly discovered that the ways we organize movement, the ways we understand coordination, are very different. Frank initiates from his upper torso and arms; he is extremely light on his feet. I might start movements in my arms or torso, but I have a grounded feeling in my legs, feet and pelvis. While working from the spiral as the basis for movement, he tends to be homologous in his use. I favor oppositional movement. So, it was a very challenging and at times confounding few days, until I was able to integrate this different way of moving into my muscles and brain.
The Shed itself was a very different environment from Dance Base, from the studios at Missouri State University, or any other studio space I have used. The floor is not sprung. There is a cushion under the Marley/lino covering that makes it possible to dance in the space without injuring joints, muscles, or ligaments; however, the cushioning dampens my usual ability to push against the floor and feel that effort resonating through my body. Also, the space is totally black, and the lighting is "daylight" florescent bulbs - a huge contrast to Dance Base's studio 4's natural lighting, white walls and mirror.

Frank in the studio

Given all these factors, the enormity of creating a solo in one week became even more apparent than it had been with Matthew and Steinvor. Frank started by teaching me a sequence of movements traveling through space, to acquaint himself with how I learn and move - and to acquaint me with his style (this sequence is not included in the choreography). Then, we talked. Then, I learned some more movement. We talked again. We had lunch. I felt as though I wasn't doing anything. It was all very pleasant, but hard to remember. At the end of the day, I was very tired. And, strangely, I don't know if anything we did that day is in the solo.
Frank had the idea of using some music from another piece, and some dancing from another piece. Here and there, then and now, present and away. On Tuesday, while waiting for an answer about those elements, he gave Bill and me instructions, so that we would generate some material. My instructions were to make 4 steps (how one defines "step" is, of course, open for discussion), 3 hops, 2 jumps and 1 spin. Bill's instructions were similar, but related to music. Thus, we each had a ground (a term from the pibroch, a Scottish bagpipes musical form); using our ground, we then created an extended phrase by stretching some of the movement and taking it farther into space and time, and Bill also developed one small part of his ground. Then, Frank shadowed me while I danced my extended phrase, creating what he calls a tracing. My extended phrase and his tracing are included in the solo. He also made another phrase which he taught me the second day.
On Wednesday, we started assembling the various movement pieces, and Bill continued working on the music he was generating. The other composer's music could not be used because no one has the file (!). Frank was intrigued by the number of places I have lived. I had sent him a list a couple of months ago, and he wanted to use it. Bill recorded me saying the street names, and then added effects (echo, reverberation, etc). Frank found an adorable pink suitcase that I might carry around. I asked if I should bring my own suitcase, which has wheels. We seemed to have a lot of disparate elements ... how would they fit together?

 

On Thursday, the movement finally started to settle in my body and mind. Saying the place names. Using my suitcase. Putting objects inside it and taking them out: Matthew's costume (in its yellow silk "hobo bag"), Steinvor's globe (in its box), two cell phones (one used "here"; the other, "there"), my notebook (which will be replaced by my map of Paris), a one-quart plastic bag and a universal electrical outlet adapter. Practicing walking backwards very slowly. Looking around because I am lost, or have forgotten what I'm supposed to be doing, or because I feel out of place. Organizing all the parts, practicing it...and then the showing/sharing! Three very attentive viewers with LOTS of thoughts. Brilliant! The difference between theatre and dance: do they go together (does it matter?); what about timing (mine was off!), rhythm, space, intention...? This was a really productive day. But, we still weren't sure about the sequence, nor how the solo would end.
Friday, Frank shuffled everything we had, inserted other things, asked me to say three words to describe a few places I have lived to define dynamic qualities for certain sequences of movement. He also added this poem from Knots, by R.D. Laing:
http://www.thepositivemind.com/tpm/poetry/RDlaing.htm
which Bill recorded. First, he had me speak into the upright piano and then sitting on the couch.
Frank had me say the last line from Steinvor's solo in French, the new ending for his part of Here, There and Everywhere.
Things fell into place. The solo feels good. The journey it represents seems clear to me now, and I hope the audience will have the same impression. The process of making this third solo was as generous and intelligent as what either Steinvor or Matthew did, but so very different from both of those solos. I am looking forward to seeing Chris Devaney next week...and to working with/in yet another way of understanding dance and dancing.

Extra added attraction of working at The Shed: b-boy spinning toys!

The Shed b-boy toys in action (give it a second or two to load):

Pause: The Weekend Before Starting Work at The Shed

So much has happened in a week. Wifi connection in the flat in Dingwall is hit-and-miss, making posting on the blog a bit challenging. Here are some updates...

Saturday, June 15th: mini-reunion

MSU Dance alumnae Lauren Clark and Nicole Meyer were in Edinburgh, as was NYC friend Joanna Brotman. We met for a stroll and a pub lunch - and photos!

Nicole, me, Lauren

Lauren has finished her second year of the Arcadia University Physical Therapy program, and is doing an internship at Bart's Hospital, London; she and a friend decided to take a weekend excursion to Edinburgh. Nicole was traveling throughout Great Britain with a friend before going to Paris (for a day!).

Joanna (R) and me

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Joanna is in Edinburgh for a three-week Laban course. She'll have a few days with her daughter to travel around Scotland before heading back to New York.

Sunday, June 16th

In the morning, Susie and Margaret (and Archie and Alan) set out for the Race for Life 5K. 

Susie, Archie and Margaret

Susie and Margaret running/walking for people they love

Alan

We drove into town, dropped Susie and Margaret off at the race site, then back to Waverly Station. I met Chris Devaney for lunch at the National Gallery of Scotland's restaurant (delicious!) in Princes Street Gardens, to catch up and discuss her part of the Here, There and Everywhere project. On the way back to the train station, we saw this bit of "flora":

Someone lost ...

... a wig!

Then, Bill and I took the train to Dingwall. Beautiful scenery, and some "local flavo(u)r" in the form of a group of young men returning to Inverness from a rather long stag party in Newcastle (no pictures of them here...)

Crossing the Forth Bridge

Sheep...everywhere...of course...

We arrived at Dingwall in time for dinner, got set up in the flat and had a really good rest, to be ready for another intensive - and intense - week of work. More in a bit...