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:
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, March 28, 2011
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.
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
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
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