Suit & Shades

I got to teach three classes at Muhlenberg today! At the end of each class I taught a phrase that I made up the other day. It has evolved a bit already, but here are some clips from where it began. I see a potential film/piece in the near future! I want a bunch of people, swimsuits, sunglasses, and sunny outdoor locations.

Also I invested in a nicer camera that is supposed to arrive at my doorstep tomorrow!!

Check out some early footage of the phrase on YouTube

Also here is a short instavideo of myself, Annie Williams, and Meredith Clemons going thru it after class this afternoon :) link to Annie's instagram

Watching

This week's main project: "Watching"

On Thursday night I saw Tere O'Connor's "Bleed" and was totally inspired. It left me feeling patient and at peace... mainly with my own artistic process. I love Tere's thoughts on writing and dance. He talked about how it's best when they run parallel to each other. He's particular about avoiding singular definitions, which seems to provide for a beautiful poetic and abstract aesthetic. I left the performance feeling inspired to sit longer with my own artistic interests, allowing them to marinate and complicate. I certainly tried to complicate this video, mainly with timing and sound layers. I love when experiments lead to surprise relationships within my work that I didn't originally see. If you find any particular moments/relationships in it that stick with you, let me know! Tis all part of a process :)

click here to watch "Watching" on YouTube

Beethoven & Chocolate

Only half of the title makes sense. I've been waiting for the opportunity to use it and this seemed close enough. A while ago, I asked Jess Warchal-King for help coming up with titles for the piece that eventually became "Life Lines"... without having seen the piece, she recommended "Beethoven & Chocolate"and it stuck.

This little film is what happened with sunglasses and a playlist on shuffle. Yes, this is how I spent my Thursday. I have so much more footage from all sorts of experiments over the past couple weeks. There's no way it'll all make it up here. I've really enjoyed having all this creative time to play while all of the companies I dance for have been on break. April is about to get a lot busier, but I'm not about to let all this stuff go.

Too many "this"

http://youtu.be/wnYZNVEtJMQ

Sometimes I feel like this kind of theme/choreomusical/simple performative relationship is overdone... yet I rarely get sick of it..

Pass

Today was phenomenally reassuring that I'm doing what I want to be doing with my life. I got to teach at my alma mater and then play with Merci (Meredith Clemons.. experimenting with this new nickname) before teaching an evening class. She asked me to choreograph a solo for audition/application stuff. In preparation, I went through some old videos of the two of us improvising. I picked out some of my favorite snippets that she did, strung them together, and taught her that phrase. It felt like such a cool gift to be able to give her a phrase that actually came from her. All I did was string together the pieces. From there we added some more snippets, and structured a beginning/middle/end. I titled it "Pass" because
-the song seems to fade in and fade out like a passing thought or daydream or memory
-as I watched/filmed her, I felt like I was passing by the scene and then continuing on with my life (as if walking down the street, seeing something, watching, then carrying onward)
-we started choreographing breath, and breath with each inhale and exhale has a passing to it

I have to mention that all of this came together in about 1 hour. ONLY ONE HOUR! super inspiring. I could do this forever!

music: "California Open Back" by Gregory Alan Isakov

watch "Pass" on YouTube

Isn't she beautiful!!?

20 Years of Dance

Spent the weekend at Muhlenberg celebrating the dance department's 20th year! Highlight: I got to premiere my piece "Life Lines" in the alumni concert with Meredith Clemons. When I was rehearsal directing at Muhlenberg in January/February for Bill T Jones' Master Choreographers piece, I got Meredith in the studio to start this duet. A few weeks later, we made our own little residency in Philly for the first chunk of her spring break. My alma mater was the perfect venue for us to debut! On the look out for more gigs!

music: "Ethel Dreams of Temporal Disturbances" by Ethel, Vijay Iyer & Pamela Z

Watch "Life Lines" on YouTube

It was beautiful to reunite with college buddies! Enjoy this short clip of our boots taken in the parking lot where we shared goodbye hugs.

The Challenge Wall

I haven't finished going through the weekend's videos yet, but...

This is the result of showing up early to an open studio. I put my playlist on shuffle and decided to keep all the original sound. I only cut parts where I was out of frame. I'm particularly proud of the crazy falling/rolling/tumbling...

And woah! I have never seen myself move as fast as 3:50ish-4:10!! Not sure if I could repeat that again if I tried.. the bittersweet nature of improv..

Playlist:
"Leaves Falling" by Lullatone
"Time Will Tell" by Gregory Alan Isakov
Canon in D Major

OK. Must shower and go to bed!

Whale Boots

Musical tidbit:
My beautiful friend and collaborator, Antonia, shared this song with me a few months ago. At the time, we were both frustrated with our attraction to whales. Whales = adventurous, exciting people who tend to run away.

Boots! These are my new, beloved boots. I've never danced in a studio with boots before. Only at parties, clubs, bars. I think some of that dancing genre showed up in the studio with the shoes.

Dusty Floor

I spent about an hour moving very slowly to Chopin's Prelude # 15 (Raindrop) the other day. A few months ago I made a solo to "Losing You" by Dusty Springfield.. twas very personal and memorable. Both experiences felt meditative and therapeutic. I'm enjoying flip-flopping the songs to see how these two pieces relate. It's helping me uncover some themes that I keep coming back to... woman alone in space, disappointed.. I also have a duet vision in mind that may go with this character..

"The useless days will add up to something." -Cheryl Strayed
All this time alone in the studio and editing these films can feel self-idulgent and useless... here's to hoping that it's adding up to something! Thank you for sharing this process with me. Gentle feedback is always much appreciated.

Not My Shirt

Some of the first improv's for my new shirt piece..

This shirt belong's to a friend's ex-fiance.. I've been wearing it for 2 years now and it has become one of my favorite things to move in.

Music: "Mahalo" by Ratatat

Like a Red Coat

Watch "Like a Red Coat" on YouTube

I played a lot of dress up in the studio today and fell a little bit in love with this red coat improv. The shirts will be a longer work in progress.. unless I continue getting distracted by the coat..

Enjoy!

Not My Shirts

Two of these shirts were my dad's, two were my brother's, one was my mom's, and one was my friend's ex-fiance's. I'll be playing dress up in the studio over the next three days. This film is my warm up/intro/preview. Music: "La Banlieue" by Beirut

Long Lost Pieces

There's too much old footage hanging out on my computer.. here's a pinch of the pile!

Shooting locations: steps in my backyard (Massachusetts in July), Philadelphia Dance Academy (Sep or Oct), Headlong Studios (Nov and Dec), my new room (before I moved my stuff in, Jan), Forbidden Drive Trail (March)

music: "Hard to Find" by The National, "California Open Back" by Gregory Alan Isakov