Growing/Becoming Final Session

So, I failed to update the blog as the dance concert came nearer; however, I still recorded videos of the process. I had recently heard the advice of a wise old artists who advised a young artist that creating art is about the process and not so much the end result. Not that the end result does not matter, but that it is meant to be a display of the process. I internalized this advice more than I let on to others- I feel it is something that has permanently affected me for the better.

This was my final rehearsal before the performance. In the rehearsal I took off my shirt and danced in my bra since I was hot. However, it inspired me to adopt this as my costume for the performance. The nude bra shows both the vulnerability and sensuality that my dance is trying to communicate, it was perfect.



EDIT 2/26/13
I wanted to include the videos of these final performances for the records.

"A Line-storm Dance"

"I'm Always Growing, Ever Becoming"

Wind Song 4/1

Last night we had rehearsal in the theater building movement studio. Dan Bullard, my friend who wrote the music for the dance came to see it for the first time. This was really exciting to hear his reaction to the piece. Also, we hit a bit of a tricky part, musically, and it was good to have him there to help count out the music.

The neatest part was hearing him say that my dance made him notice nuances in his music that he hadn't before. This is pretty cool. I've experienced that with dance. Where people point out trends or points that you didn't realize existed, though you choreographed it yourself!

We ended the piece more or less. We still have to figure out the break-down part a bit more and finalize how everyone ends up. Everything needs polishing. Costumes need ordering too. And the piece needs a real name.

Sorry, no video from last night, but I'm feeling really good about it!

Growing/Becoming Session #3

Today I went back into the studio to work on I'm Always Growing, Ever Becoming. The session was fairly productive. I got a bit further and feel pretty good about it. I finished the first part of the next verse along with a bit of the ending which is good. I probably just need to sit and listen to the song to let some ideas come to me. The idea of the dance is to reflect on how much I have grown in the past... 3 weeks.... 4 years... 22 years and how the ones I love have played such a strong part in facilitating my growth. I struggle with moments that are to explicit. I feel it is the point of dance to be a medium other than conventional forms of expression. Anywho, most recent progress:

Wind Song-a history

The dance currently referred to as Wind Song (no title as of yet) was inspired by a New Orleans sculptor named Lin Emery. She creates wind sculptures made of light metal that move in ways of isolation and union of the separate parts. (See her work here: http://www.arthurrogergallery.com/dynamic/artist_pressrelease.asp?ArtistID=22).

The idea of looking to sculpture was first inspired by my partner's sister, Sarah Goodchild-Robb, who is currently an artist in Portland, OR. Just over a pre-dinner conversation she discussed her ideas of sculpture as performance and vice-versa. Though I'm not sure that I understood exactly where she was trying to go with it, I began to look at the ideas through my personal dance lens: dance as sculpture, or sculpture as dance. This brought me to Lin Emery and to Wind Song.

The dance has 5 dancers, 4 women and 1 man. The original idea was to emulate the Lin Emery sculptures with human bodies, which I worked with in my brainstorming phase.

First brainstorm:


Nailing down some choreography:



Week 3 with Dancers:


Yesterday:



I hit a pretty rough spot before spring break. I had no idea how I was going to progress the piece and if I wanted it to have any sort of development. I wrestled with my demons and finally hit a point where I decided that I indeed wanted a "wind gust" to come through the sculptures/dancers but that with that gust the form would not hold and it would break down to become more human. The music at this point was a bit of a struggle too. It is repetitive and heavy. I feel that the choreography for the ending clearly reflects my experience in choreographing this piece as well as my experiences in life lately. I did not feel this way when I started the piece. Thus I experience again that I am always growing, ever becoming.

Growing/Becoming Session #2

This morning I arrived at the dance studio determined to finalize at least the first verse to the song. After having time to process the brainstorming I did last week, I find that I am excited about this dance and the creative visions are coming. Sometimes dance ideas come to me all at once like a portrait and sometimes I have to reveal the composition in layers, never really sure of how the next layer will look. Thus far this dance is coming layers that are a bit translucent and peeling off nicely.

My other dance is another story however. It has been a labor of love and dedication and I hope to finish it at rehearsal tonight. Perhaps I will take a video it as well to share.

This is my first time choreographing a solo piece and I am excited to experience the rest of the process. Thus far I am surprisingly pleased and confident.

Growing/Becoming Session #1

After brainstorming for ideas to the song in my head, last thursday I finally broke into the dance studio. I have enjoyed taking videos of my "brainstorming/ free writing" phase as creative ideas are so elusive. A jazz musician is quoted as saying that "improvisation is just composition sped up." I like to think that improvisation holds many gems that can be taken, polished and placed into a well thought out composition. I am excited to see where my original spontaneous ideas will end up.

Welcome

Hello everyone,

I have created this blog to track my creative process in choreographing a dance for the Spring 2011 Willamette Dance Company Concert. Also, having experienced the difficulty of gaining glimpses into other peoples' creative processes, I hope this can be a window into mine for others to view. The work is a solo piece to Joanna Newsom's "Bridges and Balloons." I am titling it "I'm Always Growing, Ever Becoming (For the Ones I Love)." It is currently being choreographed as a surprise for the ones I love, and I will reveal this blog when it has been performed.

Thank you and enjoy,
Madeline