Tripods and Boxes for Soap?

Tomorrow at BAX, Erin and I will show each other the solos we've been working on for our February and March performances.

Working on a solo is a different kind of working for me at this point. It's not only for one person, but in this case it's on myself. I've been finding that simple is better, but at the same time... am I getting too repetitive? I tend to use repetition and let it adapt to where I'm going with the work, and sometimes I become concerned that I'm overusing my "words." But when you don't have your usual opportunity to step aside as a non-participating/dancing choreographer, your crappy video footage becomes your only eyes.

Dudes, this girl needs a tripod!

I started with linking movement phrases from previous ideas that I've had or have shown elsewhere, and let them morph and evolve to what I have now (which is still evolving every time I step into the studio). What I do find difficult is the unknowing and uncertainty about what I am creating. What does it look like I'm saying? Is it accurate, or at least not so far off that it's presenting a completely different image/message? How can I portray my message without blatantly spelling it out? Even tonight as I watched my 30 minute set movement into the both loose and structured improvisation, I saw things I "liked" and things I didn't "like," but the message I received right after moving was different from when I watched it a few hours later. And further, it was different when thinking about it after that. Also, the feelings I experienced when moving contrasted from the feelings I encountered when watching myself move on video.

Then I ask - are these differences wrong? My optimistic and open-minded response is no, but my stubborn and insecure side thinks differently.

How do the geniuses do it? How is it that they manage to communicate, to the on-lookers, the message they are expressing? Or do they? Did they get their message across? Did they portray their ideas?

While standing on my soap box for what felt like 3 hours in my living room with my husband, I begged and pleaded with the world to understand that art is important and that no one should be able to say that it isn't. I try to remind my critical self of this when I begin to doubt my creative process and investigation. It doesn't matter how I make work. It doesn't matter if the work isn't "successful." What matters is that I put the situation out there - that I "talked" about it; that I offered an opinion or option to someone.

Again, I've strayed from my original idea of discussing making work on myself as a soloist, but my long day, which was filled with a wide range of topics and soap-box moments, called for a place for me to put these ideas down. And here you are reading them. And, if I'm lucky, you're thinking about art - your work, or someone else's. Any part of it, doesn't matter.

Adios, my friends. Footage to come.
Alexandra

Making dances with games

Today, Erin and I played a few games as we introduced ourselves to the small space we were creating in and to each other in a different way.

Game #1: Stop & Go

What - Move with your partner, mirroring or mimicking their movement. At any time either partner can say "stop." At that time the other person freezes and the moving partner can move around the space, interrupt the frozen space, and manipulate the frozen partner. "Go" begins the frozen partner's movement.

Why - This was meant as a tool to warm us up, re-introduce each other to our movement tendencies, and offer some ground work for phrase material later.

Game #2: Observing the Solo

What - One dancer moves in the space and very slowly the observing partner moves into the dancer's space, getting in their way, until eventually they stop moving and come to a close.

Why - This is a shortened version of how the beginning of the piece might run.

Game #3: Drudging Through Space

What - One partner assists the other as they lose their balance, their grip, and direction in space.

Why - This was meant as a transitional section between the observing the solo portion and the duet.

Here is a super shortened glimpse at our rehearsal today as we played these movement games. I must say, I am very excited to continue moving with Erin. We had an extremely successful rehearsal today that only made me more excited to work with Erin, Sam (composer) and Leigh (writer). So much more to come...

So we go there...

The title came about as Alexandra Beller thumbed through my journal and skimmed the quotes on the bottom of each page - a precious gift from my fellow grad students at Oregon on my graduation day. Little did I know that the seemingly random quote we settled on (and the first she read aloud) would come to mean so much as my creative flow took me into a world of tragedy surrounded by a community of women, both weak and strong, dealing with an experience that affects each and every one of them.

Recently, I've been in awe of words written by a friend and decided that this work needed a sort of narrative that could be used both in print and verbally. I sent her a clip of the first version of "With Bated Breath" as a background of where I'm coming from, with a prompt of women dealing with tragedy. Her excited response of where she could go with this only made my blood flow faster as I impatiently await the time and opportunity to continue working on this piece.

For now it will start with a solo/duet between myself and the lovely Erin Cella. As of now, I'm imagining that we'll introduce you to one character who is alone, or at least thinks she is, as she physically attempts to make meaning out of the sadness she has experienced. Even in real life it takes a while to let someone see you, or allow them to help you through difficult times. This is where our second character comes in. A nurturing soul who quietly observes her sister - a silent shield, protecting her from further anguish. Although her presence has been known, she steps in with an attempt to provide solace. As the broken character begins to slightly heal and come back to the present, she begins to see that she isn't the only one who needs help.

So we go there, where nothing is waiting.

Here is a work in progress piece that Emily and I put together for the CRS choreolab with Alexandra Beller back in June. 

This particular piece is a stepping stone for the re-visitation of a larger work, previously titled, "With Bated Breath." You could consider this a sneak peek into what you might expect for the solo/duet piece I'm bringing to the 2012 TransForm concert in South Carolina in March. 

Hey everyone!

It's been a while but ATD is getting back into the dance action. Since jumping into SINecdoche's performance in July and esther m palmer's Only Shallow People, I headed back to the homeland with my now husband and made our everlasting engagement official and topped it off with a much needed sun drenched vacation in Jamaica. But don't you all worry - I'm not changing any names on the business front. (Alex)andra Taylor Dance will still read loud and clear, here and anywhere I can show it.

A sad departure for ATD is founding member, Emily Leonard, who is back out in California soaking up all of the wonderful opportunities in the dance world on the west coast. Couldn't keep talent like that locked down in one place for too long. ATD is down to one singular member, but I know that we'll cross paths again in the future.

The next short and sweet performance is this Saturday bright and early at the EstroGenius 2011 Women in Motion: BODIES fundraiser conference. I'll be diving in again with Esther m Palmer and Erin Cairns Cella as we revisit Only Shallow People and "straddle the boundaries between performance and workshop through improvised dance inspired by the relationship between the unique and the universal body, and between the experiential and the visual body."

Gesel Mason will also show Women, Sex, & Desire: Sometimes You Feel Like a Ho, Sometimes You Don't. "Part talk show, workshop retreat, comedy sketch, and dance performance that examines how women navigate sex, desire, choice, and perception. It encourages dialogue around the struggles, humor, and pleasure we experience as sexual beings."

Check out the site for details.

The next few projects for ATD are in the works with TransForm Dance Collective, Marcie Mamura, and Erin Cairns Cella. More details on these soon!! I'm also hoping to have some highlights from my work in progress with Emily from Alexandra Beller's Choreolab showing from June.

Rock it out artists!

A sneak peek into ATD's current work in progress

This is a very short clip of a new work Emily and I have been working on throughout Alexandra Beller's Choreolab at the Center for Remembering and Sharing. 

These aren't the costumes, nor is it polished, but it gives you a flash of what is to come. I'll upload another video (hopefully!) after I get a copy from the showing from last week. Enjoy!

SINecdoche Dance Company needed a tall dancer.

I received a call last week from a soft and sweet voice explaining that she needed a tall dancer for an upcoming performance July 8, 9 and 10. Per the recommendation of a mutual friend, I was invited to be a part of Work : Dance : Display.

Knowing absolutely nothing about the work or the dancers (except from what I read in their bio's online), I jumped into rehearsal curious as to what I would be doing. I was accepted immediately as if I had been a part of the group already, and had no troubles being myself. After rehearsal I was still very curious about what the piece was about, but we were hard at work and there was little time to chit-chat.

I had a sense that there was something about the dancer's process that was being revealed to the viewers. I found myself in the middle of a run of the work as my partner, Aya, and I were talking out loud on purpose during the piece. We weren't talking from a script, but literally speaking to each other dancer to dance-maker as we put together a phrase in the middle of the section. Later on I was told there would be photos of us posted throughout the space for the audience to look at during the performances. I started to think that this piece was about dance and it's various layers/processes...

The following day, I got the invite for Work : Dance : Display via facebook, and found a short description of the work:

Singapore-born choreographer Belinda He challenges conventional audience expectations, etiquette and participation in her first full-length work, Work : Dance : Display by offering her dancers up to be viewed at varying levels of objectification. She invites audience members to question their own levels of interaction with the artwork that is placed in front of them. The dancers are variously seen as art objects on display, artists honing their crafts and dance-makers deep in their creative processes. Photographs of dancing bodies in rehearsal line the walls of the gallery space where audience members first encounter the dancer-exhibitions. As the piece progresses, the space itself slowly transforms into a stage, on which the identities of artists, art makers and art viewers conflate. Ms. He presents dance as she desires to experience it: in the trenches, involving all senses for a deep, visceral appreciation.

As you can imagine, it promises to be an amazing and thought provoking experience. I look forward to working with these ladies more throughout this work and getting to know Work : Dance : Display. Check out the facebook event, SINedoche's website, and buy tickets to this unique experience. Hope to see you all there!

Thanks again to you ladies who welcomed me into your space without hesitation!!