DAW interviews, part 3/3

Here's the last set of interviews I did for my piece in The Monitor about MMC's Dance Department showcase of Dancers At Work. See parts 1 and 2 also.

I'll be putting them all together later this week for the actual piece that will run in the paper, but I thought it was important to share everyone's full answers. Thanks again to all who took the time to speak to me :)

DAW INTERVIEWS
PART 3

KIM (K), TOMOKO (T), AND LINDSAY (L)

K- untitled for now, 5 dancers, exploration of women
T- ‘The Dilemma’, 3 dancers (double cast), different ways to cope with dilemma
L- ‘Occupational Hazard’, 7 dancers

TAYLOR- Can you tell me about what the process has been like?

L- It’s been exciting and nerve-racking.

K- The process is really strange because it’s like all of a sudden going from being a student in the not dominant position and suddenly being in a position of power and of authority. Standing up in front of all, what is 100 something dance majors and directing them. That was strange right off the bat. But also it’s hard because it’s not just who you want in your dance but who fits the schedule. It’s more complicated than desired.

T- I remember after the audition so many people came up to me [and were] like, ‘Did you write my name down?’ ‘I don’t remember!’ [laughs] Actually my dancers, my dancers that are in my piece, asked me that same question. ‘I don’t remember actually!’ [laughs] It’s totally based on schedule, mostly.
Movements on my body look totally different from movement on their bodies. Because my dancers are chosen by the schedule, my vocabulary is not necessarily good on them.

K- I think I lucked out. I got some really great dancers. The great thing about it, the way that they do it, is that people will surprise you. They’ll change your movement but it’ll be something you didn’t expect or you didn’t know could happen and it makes it even better than I thought it would be.

T- I think I have both experiences. Sometimes I feel like the movement is not good on their bodies and sometimes it’s totally different but looks good. I think it has both aspects.

TAYLOR- Is it hard to work with people who are your peers? Like establishing control and setting yourself apart?

K- I just have to go into a mode, quickly going from being in class with these people to then just realizing that although I want it to be a great experience and everything, it’s still my work that’s going onstage. So I want to make sure that I really…I don’t know…I’m also a control freak, so it works out.

T- It is really hard because of my language problem. English is not my first language, so sometimes I feel like they don’t understand what I’m saying because of the language I’m speaking. But sometimes not, just what I’m saying is really abstract and a new idea for them, and they don’t get it right away. So I feel sorry for them constantly and that makes it hard for me to be the choreographer, the powerful person in the rehearsal.

L- For me it’s been okay because most of my dancers are freshmen and they don’t have any preconceived notions. But in the end it’s like, ‘You’re the ones dancing it.’

TAYLOR- What’s your first language?

T- Japanese.

TAYLOR- How much collaboration is there with the dancers? Do they help you create movements?

K- I’ve done some very structured improvisation. At the beginning I did a lot of improvisation based on the feelings in my piece, and that was more just to acclimate them to the different qualities that I’m looking for. In the end it’s my choreography. Because I don’t have a wealth of experience it’s really great to have that input. I ask them a lot, ‘How does that make you feel when you do it?’ just so I can get a grasp.

T- I don’t give my dancers the timing of the movements. It’s totally up to them. You can call it improvisation. Yeah, I’ve had them do improvisation a few times in rehearsal whenever I don’t have solid ideas of the movement.

TAYLOR- Can you talk a bit about your faculty mentors? Who are they?

K- I have Pat. She’s great. I took composition with her, so we already have a good rapport and an understanding of each other and the way we work. She’ll come in to the beginning of one of the rehearsals a week and she’ll basically just watch the piece and point out spots that stick out as awkward. She’ll give some ideas. She won’t necessarily tell me what to do but she’ll help me generate ideas.

T- I have Pat too. What she said [Kim] is what I have to say.

L- I also have Pat. It’s helpful to have another eye. Sometimes I’ll be thinking of something and then she’ll reassure it. She helps me challenge myself.

TAYLOR- Are there any outside choreographic influences besides your mentors? Any outside choreographers…

K- I think you can’t help but be influenced by your teachers and the people you’ve worked with. Even just all the pieces I’ve been in in the department, whether it’s deciding I don’t want to choreograph anything like that, or picking not necessarily the steps or the movements but spatial formations. How can I do something similar to that? I don’t know.

T- I am definitely influenced by my teacher from Japan. That’s one of the challenges: to break the vocabulary from her. It’s frustrating. Whatever I do I feel like I’m doing her stuff.

K- I constantly feel like, ‘Wait. Did I see that somewhere before?’

T- Yeah!

L- I would say the same thing. You’re always influenced by whoever you dance with. And even when I go and see performances I’m like, ‘Oh, I like that movement,’ and then it will spark something else. Not necessarily doing the same thing, but it’s giving you an idea and it’s like, ‘Oh, I never thought of that before.’

TAYLOR- What else inspires you creatively? Is it music or anything else besides choreographers?

K- I’m personally inspired by improvisation. In my improvisation classes I’ve really discovered a way that I like to move and that makes me creative. Also I’m really interested in visual art. Music inspires me - not necessarily in that it’s a piece of music I’ll use - but I’ll take rhythms from other pieces of music and use it as a rhythm in my dance that goes against the music of my piece. I’m really inspired my literature too, because I’m a dork and I like to read.

T- People in public. I love gesture and movement. I cannot stop watching people. That’s good you know, just shaking hands.

L- I would just say music. I’m always listening to my iPod on, and even if it’s music that I would normally listen to and I’ll find little phrases that I like.

TAYLOR- What’s been the biggest challenge for you in the whole process of choreographing?

T- Time. We don’t really have time to finish the piece. We have the deadline, clear deadline, that’s coming soon. Choreography is not like if you try, you can make something. It’s not like that. You have to be creative. That creativity doesn’t come because you want it. So it’s really hard.

L- Yeah sometimes I’m like, ‘I’m not motivated right now. I’m not going to.’

T- But you still have rehearsal.

L- Yeah, you still have your rehearsal. You have to walk in with something because you have that time to do it.

K- My biggest challenge is self-judgment. Making something and being like, ‘Okay, that’s good because I made it.’ Not worrying about it being unique or mind boggling or earth shattering, but just being like, ’It’s good because I made it.’ That’s the hardest part.

L- And finding new ways to choreograph, too. I always find myself with my old habits and it gets monotonous. I have to try to find new ways to do everything.

TAYLOR- What’s been the best part?

K- Watching something when it works. Putting on the music and having the dancers go and it actually working. It might not have been what I thought it was going to be but ah, if it works…

T- When what I picture in my brain becomes reality, it’s the greatest moment ever.

L- Just putting everything together. We tweak everything and work on it so many times, and when we finally put the music on and put everything together, it works.

TAYLOR- Do you all want to choreograph in the future, like after you graduate?

K- This has definitely been an experience that I will rethink any future choreography. I will not jump in to any major projects. I’d probably approach it a lot differently.

L- It’s a different setting here, with all the deadlines, and this is exactly when you have to do it. It’s like all eyes on you. You’re not just doing it for fun. Maybe I’ll finish it - no, I don’t like that part. You have to progressively go.

K- There’s also the problem that for some people, this is the only performance of the whole semester. You feel like you have a responsibility to give them they want to perform. You have to consider their opinion.

TAYLOR- Do you have any advice for future choreographers for DAW?

L- You have to just figure it out for yourself.

K- Come in with as many ideas as possible.

T- You have to sit somewhere and picture how it looks onstage and not in the studio. Sometimes you lose the original picture and you have to think of how it’s going to be on stage.