The December issue of MMC's school paper The Monitor is now online. This was my last issue as Features Editor before I graduate! As usual, lots of work went into it, so take a look!
Still smiling about The New Yorker internship :)
Showing posts with label the monitor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the monitor. Show all posts
Monday, December 10, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Monitor - Nov. Issue
The November issue of our school paper, The Monitor (of which I'm the Features Editor), is now available online.
Lots of work went into this, so please take a look at the .pdf and enjoy! Page 10 has one feature of mine, and page 11 has the very cut down version of my interviews for the DAW performance of the Dance Dept.
I only get to work on one more issue before I graduate. Scary!
Lots of work went into this, so please take a look at the .pdf and enjoy! Page 10 has one feature of mine, and page 11 has the very cut down version of my interviews for the DAW performance of the Dance Dept.
I only get to work on one more issue before I graduate. Scary!
Monday, October 22, 2007
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.
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.
DAW Interviews, part 2
Another set of interviews I did for The Monitor. See part 1 from last week...more to come soon.
DAW INTERVIEWS
PART 2
FRIDAY 2PM
ELENA (E), HEATHER (H)
H-“Of the Earth,” 5 dancers, 2nd time DAW
E- “Conversely Tangled,” 9 dancers, 3rd time DAW
TAYLOR- What has the DAW process been like?
E- The process for me was a bit rocky at the beginning because I was actually injured, like the 3rd day of school. So I was on crutches for a while, so to choreograph was very super hard. I have really good dancers and they’re very perceptive and they’re very fast so it makes things a lot easier. But as far as working with the dancers it’s always a really good experience because everyone in the program is really on top of things. They’ll dance for you like they’ll dance for a faculty member. I really don’t have any problems with it.
H- You try and make it systematic so that dancers can pick things up well, but things choreographically don’t work that way. The creative process can’t be systematic. You can’t plan it sometimes. What you think in your head doesn’t always work in real life. Some of the best stuff comes through improve or having a simple idea and testing it out on the dancers and seeing the trials and errors. It’s a really fun, frustrating, and rewarding process.
E- All at the same time!
H- All at the same time.
TAYLOR- Is it hard to work with the dancers in the sense that they’re your peers?
E- In some ways yeah, because you’re automatically in a position of authority but at the same time they’re your peers, so it’s a little bit a conflict of interest sometimes. Overall there’s not any issues with respect or anything like that, so it’s pretty good.
H- For me it’s been really fun. It hasn’t been stressful at all to have my peers. Everyone respects each other very much.
E- Yeah.
H- Because..I don’t know, we just all do.
E- They understand what you’re trying to do. And a lot of them are like, ‘Well I wouldn’t want to do that anyway.’
H- It’s hard to stay focused sometimes because we have so much fun and we get into side conversations.
E- Yeah that is a downfall.
TAYLOR- How much collaboration is there with the dancers? Do they help you make up steps and stuff?
E- Yes. I usually come in with a set phrase I want to work on or a set minute or chunk of the piece I want to work on, and then once the movement is on the dancers I feel like it automatically just tweaks itself because it’s on a different body; it’s not on yourself. So if automatically shifts itself. In general I feel like working with your dancers is a very very valuable tool because you can come up with possibilities you didn’t think of on your own, or like your body doesn’t allow you to do. Especially when I was on crutches trying to choreograph, I’m like “Oh yeah, that can actually work because you can actually dance.”
TAYLOR- I bet that was hard.
E- Yeah it was crazy, but all better now!
H- The dancers definitely help me out. Especially for this piece I had them improvise a lot where they travel in space. Actually yesterday I gave them something very specific I wanted them to do, and somehow everyone started the same phrase at a different time, and it was awesome! So I told them to keep it. A mistake can be a blessing.
E- I love when stuff like that happens!
H- It’s awesome. They felt so bad and I’m like ‘Do it again! It was so good.’
TAYLOR- Can you talk a little bit about your faculty mentors? Who are they and how do they work with you?
E- Mine is Nancy. She’s very very perceptive. She actually hasn’t come too much to my rehearsals, but the ones that she does come to she definitely helps me out a lot. She always has something valuable to say. It’s not so much like, ‘Oh change this.’ It’s more like, ‘What do you think about this section,’ or ‘What are you trying to say with this.’ It’s in a very constructive way I think.
H- Mine is Pat. She’s actually great. I had her a year ago when I was choreographing and she saved me. This year has been harder because I know what I’m doing now. There are times when you want your piece to be your piece, and they want it to be what they think your piece is. It’s kind of like having someone coming in and you’re trying to paint a picture and you’re on a little corner. You know what the whole thing looks like but they only see that corner. They’re like, ‘No, that’s not what it is.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, yes it is! Leave me alone.’ So that can be frustrating.
E- It’s a little bit of a balance. But at the same time I always have to remember they’ve seen more dance than I have, they have way more experience than I have. So at the same time you have to just remember that I’m still new at this, so I do have to keep that in the back of my mind.
H- They do have good advice. It’s good to think about.
E- Take it in stride.
TAYLOR- Besides your mentors, are there any other choreographic influences you have? Any outside choreographers?
E- I would say, for me, this piece, I saw a choreographer last year named Susan Marshall. She does a lot of work at DTW. Just in the way that she uses gesture, I think that’s a very big part of my piece this year. And integrating that with dance and making dance and gesture one in the same. So she was a very big influence to me this year.
H- This year I’ve tried not to think about technique at all, about other people’s choreography, about my own typical choreography. I’ve tried to create from a place of what everything feels like. In that I haven’t thought of anyone else, of any technique, of any choreographer. Just seeing what comes out.
TAYLOR- Has that been difficult to totally ignore everything?
H- It’s actually been very rewarding. It’s been difficult because every time I have to create I have to come from that place. To get there sometimes I have to always forget what happened that day, that week, if there’s anything bothering me. I have to feel completely centered and remember what it is that I’m creating about. So I have to come from that physical and emotional place, which is hard to get to sometimes, but the end result is great.
TAYLOR- Is there anything else that inspires you creatively, like music?
E- Just because the music this semester was created specifically created for me, that in itself I think really inspired me because I had to – before I even started creating movement I had to think of a structure of what this music is going to sound like. That really drove my piece forward and definitely shifted the way that I worked. Normally I would go ABCD, but since I knew the structure of the music already I kind of knew the structure of the piece, so I could go ADB, I can kind of pick and choose sections because I knew in the end how it would all fit together. Definitely the music inspired me.
H- I was very inspired by African and Australian wildlife and living out in the bush, just in general. My piece is very much about that. I’ve studied a lot of animals and their movements, and just nature in general. [I] have read books on Australia and Africa and just the hard life and about what it’s like to be so connected to nature and to rely on it completely for your well being. And the people that really do that have a totally different sense of sensuality and embodiment. It’s so focused and it’s not at all like we have here. Everyone’s like [makes gesture] or totally in their own world. My piece is about connecting back to that original place and that inner animal. I guess.
TAYLOR- Elena, what’s been your relationship with your composer?
E- Funny story. It’s actually been pretty good. He is a friend of a friend. He has a band. It’s a very strong rock influence. He’s extremely extremely talented but doesn’t adhere to deadlines. And that’s all I’m going to say! [Laughs] No, it’s just hard when you want to be in control of all these different components of your piece and then you have to wait. Like I was saying to Heather, I still don’t have the final cut of my music yet so I’m kind of stressing about that. He gave me a rough cut of it he did on the computer, but it sounds very synthesized and very techno right now. But he did everything. The main instrumentation is guitar, piano, drums, base. Extremely rock and roll heavy influence. It’s kind of a ticking time bomb right now.
TAYLOR- Well that leads to my next question. What’s been the biggest challenge for you so far?
H- When your whole goal is to create from an inspired state, and you’re not inspired.
TAYLOR- Does that happen a lot?
H- Not too often. But when it does happen you feel like you’ve wasted so much time and it’s really depressing. Those are the hardest moments. But they don’t last.
E- If you have good dancers, yeah.
H- Yeah.
E- I’ve had a few [challenges], but really I think it’s staying true to instincts, because a lot of times you find yourself kind of going off course and you question yourself and you’re like, ‘Is that cool? Is it not? I don’t know, I’ve seen it so many times. I’m kind of bored of it now.’
H- That happens to me all the time.
E- I’m like, ‘I don’t know, is this boring? I don’t know if this is interesting.’ So it’s trying to find that balance between trusting it. It also helps to get a fresh pair of eyes to see it.
TAYLOR- What’s been the best part?
E- That’s a hard question. I think for me, it’s like this is my vision that I put into movement. It’s really hard to articulate because you have this idea in your head and it starts out as this little thing. Then eventually when you see it with lights and music and costumes and you see everything come together, it kind of just makes you want to cry because really it’s like your baby. You gave birth to this thing and it’s such a satisfying feeling.
TAYLOR- It’s funny that you say that because I was talking to Meghan [Pilling] the other day and she said the exact same thing about it being like a baby.
E- That is funny. Same analogy! But it’s true!
H- For me, I do love that moment. I really do. The best part is when you have your concept and you dig and dig really deep to understand it yourself. You find all sorts of things that you never thought about. Your dancers reveal things for you, and the movement reveals things for you. You get a really awesome understanding of what it is that you’re studying, and so do you dancers. For this dance I’ve had to dig really deep. I feel like a different person [laughs]. I’ve learned a lot and I feel like it’s translated into my other classes, and just in everyday life too. It’s cool when your dancers go on the same journey.
TAYLOR- Do both of you want to choreograph after you graduate?
H- Perhaps. I always thought I’d never be a choreographer and do choreography but I just switched my concentration to choreography, so who knows.
E- My concentration is choreography. I would like to continue to pursue it, maybe not on a huge scale, but I do like the idea of working with dancers and going through this process of creating something. I feel like it’s really important, as a dancer too, to really find what makes you, you. You’re expressions and everything.
TAYLOR- My last question. Do you have any advice for future choreographers or those coming through the DAW experience?
E- Woo, future choreographers of America! Get your music rights in the summer [jokes].
H- There’s so much you could say.
E- There is so much. To really be open to the idea that your piece may no end up what you originally thought it was going to be. I remember the first time I choreographed I was hell-bent on this one thing, and I would not change my mind. ‘This is what I want.’ And yeah, that’s good, but at the same time you restrict yourself so much by doing that. So just be open to possibilities. Don’t be so straight and narrow like I was.
H- I would say probably the same thing. Just don’t be discouraged. Take every opportunity in your choreography to grow and learn from everything that you can. The best part is when things don’t turn out they way you thought they would and it ends up being so much better.
E- Amen.
DAW INTERVIEWS
PART 2
FRIDAY 2PM
ELENA (E), HEATHER (H)
H-“Of the Earth,” 5 dancers, 2nd time DAW
E- “Conversely Tangled,” 9 dancers, 3rd time DAW
TAYLOR- What has the DAW process been like?
E- The process for me was a bit rocky at the beginning because I was actually injured, like the 3rd day of school. So I was on crutches for a while, so to choreograph was very super hard. I have really good dancers and they’re very perceptive and they’re very fast so it makes things a lot easier. But as far as working with the dancers it’s always a really good experience because everyone in the program is really on top of things. They’ll dance for you like they’ll dance for a faculty member. I really don’t have any problems with it.
H- You try and make it systematic so that dancers can pick things up well, but things choreographically don’t work that way. The creative process can’t be systematic. You can’t plan it sometimes. What you think in your head doesn’t always work in real life. Some of the best stuff comes through improve or having a simple idea and testing it out on the dancers and seeing the trials and errors. It’s a really fun, frustrating, and rewarding process.
E- All at the same time!
H- All at the same time.
TAYLOR- Is it hard to work with the dancers in the sense that they’re your peers?
E- In some ways yeah, because you’re automatically in a position of authority but at the same time they’re your peers, so it’s a little bit a conflict of interest sometimes. Overall there’s not any issues with respect or anything like that, so it’s pretty good.
H- For me it’s been really fun. It hasn’t been stressful at all to have my peers. Everyone respects each other very much.
E- Yeah.
H- Because..I don’t know, we just all do.
E- They understand what you’re trying to do. And a lot of them are like, ‘Well I wouldn’t want to do that anyway.’
H- It’s hard to stay focused sometimes because we have so much fun and we get into side conversations.
E- Yeah that is a downfall.
TAYLOR- How much collaboration is there with the dancers? Do they help you make up steps and stuff?
E- Yes. I usually come in with a set phrase I want to work on or a set minute or chunk of the piece I want to work on, and then once the movement is on the dancers I feel like it automatically just tweaks itself because it’s on a different body; it’s not on yourself. So if automatically shifts itself. In general I feel like working with your dancers is a very very valuable tool because you can come up with possibilities you didn’t think of on your own, or like your body doesn’t allow you to do. Especially when I was on crutches trying to choreograph, I’m like “Oh yeah, that can actually work because you can actually dance.”
TAYLOR- I bet that was hard.
E- Yeah it was crazy, but all better now!
H- The dancers definitely help me out. Especially for this piece I had them improvise a lot where they travel in space. Actually yesterday I gave them something very specific I wanted them to do, and somehow everyone started the same phrase at a different time, and it was awesome! So I told them to keep it. A mistake can be a blessing.
E- I love when stuff like that happens!
H- It’s awesome. They felt so bad and I’m like ‘Do it again! It was so good.’
TAYLOR- Can you talk a little bit about your faculty mentors? Who are they and how do they work with you?
E- Mine is Nancy. She’s very very perceptive. She actually hasn’t come too much to my rehearsals, but the ones that she does come to she definitely helps me out a lot. She always has something valuable to say. It’s not so much like, ‘Oh change this.’ It’s more like, ‘What do you think about this section,’ or ‘What are you trying to say with this.’ It’s in a very constructive way I think.
H- Mine is Pat. She’s actually great. I had her a year ago when I was choreographing and she saved me. This year has been harder because I know what I’m doing now. There are times when you want your piece to be your piece, and they want it to be what they think your piece is. It’s kind of like having someone coming in and you’re trying to paint a picture and you’re on a little corner. You know what the whole thing looks like but they only see that corner. They’re like, ‘No, that’s not what it is.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, yes it is! Leave me alone.’ So that can be frustrating.
E- It’s a little bit of a balance. But at the same time I always have to remember they’ve seen more dance than I have, they have way more experience than I have. So at the same time you have to just remember that I’m still new at this, so I do have to keep that in the back of my mind.
H- They do have good advice. It’s good to think about.
E- Take it in stride.
TAYLOR- Besides your mentors, are there any other choreographic influences you have? Any outside choreographers?
E- I would say, for me, this piece, I saw a choreographer last year named Susan Marshall. She does a lot of work at DTW. Just in the way that she uses gesture, I think that’s a very big part of my piece this year. And integrating that with dance and making dance and gesture one in the same. So she was a very big influence to me this year.
H- This year I’ve tried not to think about technique at all, about other people’s choreography, about my own typical choreography. I’ve tried to create from a place of what everything feels like. In that I haven’t thought of anyone else, of any technique, of any choreographer. Just seeing what comes out.
TAYLOR- Has that been difficult to totally ignore everything?
H- It’s actually been very rewarding. It’s been difficult because every time I have to create I have to come from that place. To get there sometimes I have to always forget what happened that day, that week, if there’s anything bothering me. I have to feel completely centered and remember what it is that I’m creating about. So I have to come from that physical and emotional place, which is hard to get to sometimes, but the end result is great.
TAYLOR- Is there anything else that inspires you creatively, like music?
E- Just because the music this semester was created specifically created for me, that in itself I think really inspired me because I had to – before I even started creating movement I had to think of a structure of what this music is going to sound like. That really drove my piece forward and definitely shifted the way that I worked. Normally I would go ABCD, but since I knew the structure of the music already I kind of knew the structure of the piece, so I could go ADB, I can kind of pick and choose sections because I knew in the end how it would all fit together. Definitely the music inspired me.
H- I was very inspired by African and Australian wildlife and living out in the bush, just in general. My piece is very much about that. I’ve studied a lot of animals and their movements, and just nature in general. [I] have read books on Australia and Africa and just the hard life and about what it’s like to be so connected to nature and to rely on it completely for your well being. And the people that really do that have a totally different sense of sensuality and embodiment. It’s so focused and it’s not at all like we have here. Everyone’s like [makes gesture] or totally in their own world. My piece is about connecting back to that original place and that inner animal. I guess.
TAYLOR- Elena, what’s been your relationship with your composer?
E- Funny story. It’s actually been pretty good. He is a friend of a friend. He has a band. It’s a very strong rock influence. He’s extremely extremely talented but doesn’t adhere to deadlines. And that’s all I’m going to say! [Laughs] No, it’s just hard when you want to be in control of all these different components of your piece and then you have to wait. Like I was saying to Heather, I still don’t have the final cut of my music yet so I’m kind of stressing about that. He gave me a rough cut of it he did on the computer, but it sounds very synthesized and very techno right now. But he did everything. The main instrumentation is guitar, piano, drums, base. Extremely rock and roll heavy influence. It’s kind of a ticking time bomb right now.
TAYLOR- Well that leads to my next question. What’s been the biggest challenge for you so far?
H- When your whole goal is to create from an inspired state, and you’re not inspired.
TAYLOR- Does that happen a lot?
H- Not too often. But when it does happen you feel like you’ve wasted so much time and it’s really depressing. Those are the hardest moments. But they don’t last.
E- If you have good dancers, yeah.
H- Yeah.
E- I’ve had a few [challenges], but really I think it’s staying true to instincts, because a lot of times you find yourself kind of going off course and you question yourself and you’re like, ‘Is that cool? Is it not? I don’t know, I’ve seen it so many times. I’m kind of bored of it now.’
H- That happens to me all the time.
E- I’m like, ‘I don’t know, is this boring? I don’t know if this is interesting.’ So it’s trying to find that balance between trusting it. It also helps to get a fresh pair of eyes to see it.
TAYLOR- What’s been the best part?
E- That’s a hard question. I think for me, it’s like this is my vision that I put into movement. It’s really hard to articulate because you have this idea in your head and it starts out as this little thing. Then eventually when you see it with lights and music and costumes and you see everything come together, it kind of just makes you want to cry because really it’s like your baby. You gave birth to this thing and it’s such a satisfying feeling.
TAYLOR- It’s funny that you say that because I was talking to Meghan [Pilling] the other day and she said the exact same thing about it being like a baby.
E- That is funny. Same analogy! But it’s true!
H- For me, I do love that moment. I really do. The best part is when you have your concept and you dig and dig really deep to understand it yourself. You find all sorts of things that you never thought about. Your dancers reveal things for you, and the movement reveals things for you. You get a really awesome understanding of what it is that you’re studying, and so do you dancers. For this dance I’ve had to dig really deep. I feel like a different person [laughs]. I’ve learned a lot and I feel like it’s translated into my other classes, and just in everyday life too. It’s cool when your dancers go on the same journey.
TAYLOR- Do both of you want to choreograph after you graduate?
H- Perhaps. I always thought I’d never be a choreographer and do choreography but I just switched my concentration to choreography, so who knows.
E- My concentration is choreography. I would like to continue to pursue it, maybe not on a huge scale, but I do like the idea of working with dancers and going through this process of creating something. I feel like it’s really important, as a dancer too, to really find what makes you, you. You’re expressions and everything.
TAYLOR- My last question. Do you have any advice for future choreographers or those coming through the DAW experience?
E- Woo, future choreographers of America! Get your music rights in the summer [jokes].
H- There’s so much you could say.
E- There is so much. To really be open to the idea that your piece may no end up what you originally thought it was going to be. I remember the first time I choreographed I was hell-bent on this one thing, and I would not change my mind. ‘This is what I want.’ And yeah, that’s good, but at the same time you restrict yourself so much by doing that. So just be open to possibilities. Don’t be so straight and narrow like I was.
H- I would say probably the same thing. Just don’t be discouraged. Take every opportunity in your choreography to grow and learn from everything that you can. The best part is when things don’t turn out they way you thought they would and it ends up being so much better.
E- Amen.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
DAW Interviews part 1
For the next issue of our school paper, The Monitor, I'm doing a series of interviews with student choreographers in the Dance Department who are involved in Dancers At Work (DAW), a showcase in November for student work. There are 9 of them, and by press time I will have spoken to all of them in depth but will have eliminated many important details due to print space.
Going along with my general thesis musings about dance writing moving to the internet I thought it would be fitting for me to post my full interviews with them on here. I am amazed at what they have to say and the depth of their work and I want to share everything that won't make it to the Monitor article.
So here is the first interview transcribed. It is with Meghan (M) and Bianca (B). Last names have been eliminated for privacy purposes. It starts with a few notes describing DAW and then goes into my questions.
My personal and editorial commentary have been left out for the moment until the article comes together at deadline next week.
DAW INTERVIEWS FOR MONITOR - part 1 - 10/17/07
Meghan(2nd time DAW)
Bianca(1st time DAW)
M- Reach Me, 9 dancers, composed by Chris Lancaster (electric cello)
B- (untitled to date), 5 dancers, music: Finnish Symphony, about sexual abuse and interconnected
-started rehearsals 2nd week of school, for all BFA dancers
-auditions
-they give audition phrase (approved by faculty the week before) and get 20 mins to see dancers
-they make list of their choice dancers, faculty makes choices, final cast determined by combination of both and schedules
-mentors come once a week
TAYLOR: What’s the rehearsal process like?
M- It’s been easy this year. You know, if you get a great group of dancers and there’s no drama, nobody misses rehearsals, everyone works together then it goes smoothly.
TAYLOR: What is your choreographic process like?
M- We are totally different [Bianca and me]. I’m neurotic. I have to come in with something prepared. I come in on weekends to rehearse.
B- And I’m the exact opposite. I come in with nothing prepared, no set ideas, and I like to experiment with the dancers.
M- It works well for both of us.
B- I mean, I had my dancers improve the whole first rehearsal just to see how they move. I like to experiment on the spot.
M- And I experiment within the limits of what I’ve already come up with.
TAYLOR: How much influence do the dancers have on your choreography?
M- I don’t think either of us actually let anyone actually come up with steps, but I do ask them, you know, what is comfortable, what happens naturally. I’m working with partnering for the first time, so if we’re having a problem the dancers either solve it and I use what they’ve done or that makes me think of something else that would work.
B- Yeah, they help with the quality of movement.
TAYLOR: Who are your faculty mentors and what is it like to work with them?
M- Mine is Pat C. She was my mentor last year (for DAW) and I’ve had her as a teacher, so I have a very strong relationship with her. She give critiques for what she thinks doesn’t fit or looks awkward, or the opposite, what does work. But she also likes to just throw ideas around, even if she knows they’re something I won’t use. They’re usually crazy ideas.
B- Mine is Nancy L. She was my modern teacher freshman year. She’s very helpful. She asks me questions about my intentions for every movement and from there I investigate the movement.
TAYLOR: What’s your inspiration? Is there any outside choreographer you admire?
M- I always like to go see concerts. Watching other dancers outside of class, outside of rehearsal, outside of being in or watching someone else’s rehearsal – just being in the audience to sit back and observe is great.
B- For me I think it’s socially what’s happening in the world.
M- And taking time to think too. I think a lot, and at the weirdest times! Like when I’m brushing my teeth…or when I go home on the bus. It consumes your thoughts. And before I go to bed.
B- I have dreams about it.
TAYLOR: What has been your biggest challenge thus far with these pieces?
M- I think this year pacing myself has been hardest. My piece is twice as long as the one I did last year. Last year it was 6 minutes, this year it’s 12. So setting the pace definitely now that we’re getting to crunch time.
B- Beginning and ending. I can do all the in between, but I like to tell stories with my dances.
TAYLOR: Have you choreographed before DAW?
B- Yes, at New World School of Performing Arts. I was a big part of that.
M- At one of my old schools I used to dance at my teacher was really good about letting us help out with that. It started with just working with my friends and moved to doing some opening acts for shows and then some solo works in high school. I’m also big into theater so I’ve worked with some musical theater choreography.
B- I also choreographed this summer at a festival in Italy. Every summer they have a big festival with all the companies, and I was with ProDanca. We had a performance in Florence and…
M- I want to go to Italy!
TAYLOR: What’s been the best part about DAW?
M- The whole thing! It truly is a great experience and process to be part of. I mean most schools don’t give student choreographers as much leeway as they do here. It’s absolutely 100% student run, from the auditions, choosing the dancers, the costumes the lighting, everything! Even things like designing the postcard.
B- I’m like a kid in a candy store. It’s extremely exciting. It’s rejuvenating. It’s spiritual. It’s a way to have your voice heard.
M- And it’s so different from class. It’s like raising a baby: it starts out as an idea in your head over the summer, which grows to a phrase, which grows to a dance, which grows to a performance, and then you send your work out into the world and hope it doesn’t screw up too badly.
TAYLOR: Do you want to choreograph after you graduate?
M- I can see myself doing it. I don’t know about it as a career because I want to perform, but I can definitely see myself doing it.
B- Yes. I want to start my own company and tour the world. I want to take my choreography to Africa, South America…
TAYLOR: Do you have any advice for future choreographers?
M- Give it a try. I meet a lot of people with ideas about pieces they want to do but they’re not sure. Just go for it.
B- Yeah, don’t be scared. Everyone has something to say, that’s why we’re artists, and it’s just a great way to have your voice heard.
copyright (2007) Taylor Gordon
Going along with my general thesis musings about dance writing moving to the internet I thought it would be fitting for me to post my full interviews with them on here. I am amazed at what they have to say and the depth of their work and I want to share everything that won't make it to the Monitor article.
So here is the first interview transcribed. It is with Meghan (M) and Bianca (B). Last names have been eliminated for privacy purposes. It starts with a few notes describing DAW and then goes into my questions.
My personal and editorial commentary have been left out for the moment until the article comes together at deadline next week.
DAW INTERVIEWS FOR MONITOR - part 1 - 10/17/07
Meghan(2nd time DAW)
Bianca(1st time DAW)
M- Reach Me, 9 dancers, composed by Chris Lancaster (electric cello)
B- (untitled to date), 5 dancers, music: Finnish Symphony, about sexual abuse and interconnected
-started rehearsals 2nd week of school, for all BFA dancers
-auditions
-they give audition phrase (approved by faculty the week before) and get 20 mins to see dancers
-they make list of their choice dancers, faculty makes choices, final cast determined by combination of both and schedules
-mentors come once a week
TAYLOR: What’s the rehearsal process like?
M- It’s been easy this year. You know, if you get a great group of dancers and there’s no drama, nobody misses rehearsals, everyone works together then it goes smoothly.
TAYLOR: What is your choreographic process like?
M- We are totally different [Bianca and me]. I’m neurotic. I have to come in with something prepared. I come in on weekends to rehearse.
B- And I’m the exact opposite. I come in with nothing prepared, no set ideas, and I like to experiment with the dancers.
M- It works well for both of us.
B- I mean, I had my dancers improve the whole first rehearsal just to see how they move. I like to experiment on the spot.
M- And I experiment within the limits of what I’ve already come up with.
TAYLOR: How much influence do the dancers have on your choreography?
M- I don’t think either of us actually let anyone actually come up with steps, but I do ask them, you know, what is comfortable, what happens naturally. I’m working with partnering for the first time, so if we’re having a problem the dancers either solve it and I use what they’ve done or that makes me think of something else that would work.
B- Yeah, they help with the quality of movement.
TAYLOR: Who are your faculty mentors and what is it like to work with them?
M- Mine is Pat C. She was my mentor last year (for DAW) and I’ve had her as a teacher, so I have a very strong relationship with her. She give critiques for what she thinks doesn’t fit or looks awkward, or the opposite, what does work. But she also likes to just throw ideas around, even if she knows they’re something I won’t use. They’re usually crazy ideas.
B- Mine is Nancy L. She was my modern teacher freshman year. She’s very helpful. She asks me questions about my intentions for every movement and from there I investigate the movement.
TAYLOR: What’s your inspiration? Is there any outside choreographer you admire?
M- I always like to go see concerts. Watching other dancers outside of class, outside of rehearsal, outside of being in or watching someone else’s rehearsal – just being in the audience to sit back and observe is great.
B- For me I think it’s socially what’s happening in the world.
M- And taking time to think too. I think a lot, and at the weirdest times! Like when I’m brushing my teeth…or when I go home on the bus. It consumes your thoughts. And before I go to bed.
B- I have dreams about it.
TAYLOR: What has been your biggest challenge thus far with these pieces?
M- I think this year pacing myself has been hardest. My piece is twice as long as the one I did last year. Last year it was 6 minutes, this year it’s 12. So setting the pace definitely now that we’re getting to crunch time.
B- Beginning and ending. I can do all the in between, but I like to tell stories with my dances.
TAYLOR: Have you choreographed before DAW?
B- Yes, at New World School of Performing Arts. I was a big part of that.
M- At one of my old schools I used to dance at my teacher was really good about letting us help out with that. It started with just working with my friends and moved to doing some opening acts for shows and then some solo works in high school. I’m also big into theater so I’ve worked with some musical theater choreography.
B- I also choreographed this summer at a festival in Italy. Every summer they have a big festival with all the companies, and I was with ProDanca. We had a performance in Florence and…
M- I want to go to Italy!
TAYLOR: What’s been the best part about DAW?
M- The whole thing! It truly is a great experience and process to be part of. I mean most schools don’t give student choreographers as much leeway as they do here. It’s absolutely 100% student run, from the auditions, choosing the dancers, the costumes the lighting, everything! Even things like designing the postcard.
B- I’m like a kid in a candy store. It’s extremely exciting. It’s rejuvenating. It’s spiritual. It’s a way to have your voice heard.
M- And it’s so different from class. It’s like raising a baby: it starts out as an idea in your head over the summer, which grows to a phrase, which grows to a dance, which grows to a performance, and then you send your work out into the world and hope it doesn’t screw up too badly.
TAYLOR: Do you want to choreograph after you graduate?
M- I can see myself doing it. I don’t know about it as a career because I want to perform, but I can definitely see myself doing it.
B- Yes. I want to start my own company and tour the world. I want to take my choreography to Africa, South America…
TAYLOR: Do you have any advice for future choreographers?
M- Give it a try. I meet a lot of people with ideas about pieces they want to do but they’re not sure. Just go for it.
B- Yeah, don’t be scared. Everyone has something to say, that’s why we’re artists, and it’s just a great way to have your voice heard.
copyright (2007) Taylor Gordon
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