December 2007 Concert
Thursday, December 6th, 8:00 pm
Friday, December 7th, 8:00 pm
Saturday, December 8th, 8:00 pm
Dance Performance Studio, A301 Performing Arts Building
Tickets: $10, full; $7, students, staff, & seniors
There will also be pieces by Ina Brunette, Ashleigh Gurtler, Allie Linn, Anna Headen, Lianne Pignatello, and a faculty piece by Karen Reedy. (Check out her website! Karen Reedy Dance)
I have a cast of six dancers and we have been working on this piece since the beginning of September. Here is the latest recording. I apologize ahead of time, but my video recording skills do leave much to be desired.
I have enjoyed working on this piece so much that it is hard for me to finish it. It seems that I have become attached to the process of creating almost more so than witnessing the finished product.
When I fist began this piece back in September, I decided to create a dance inspired by the book, Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino. One of my favorite cities described in the book was the city Valdrada.
" The ancients built Valdrada on the shores of a lake, with houses all verandas one above the other, and high streets whose railed parapets look out over the water. Thus the traveler, arriving, sees two cities: one erect above the lake, and the other reflected, upside down. Nothing exists or happens in the one Valdrada that the other Valdrada does not repeat, because the city was so constructed that its every point would be reflected in its mirror, and the Valdrada down in the water contains not only all the flutings and juttings of the facades that rise above the lake, but also the rooms; interiors with ceilings and floors, the perspective of the halls, the mirrors of the wardrobes."
My original music was a remix of a Nine Inch Nails song. The music sounded very electronic and industrial. I liked the hard sound I had combined with somewhat soft edge movement. However, when I reached a dead end in my flow of creativity, I found a renewal in my choreographic progression when I made a music change. In the end I have decided to change to the current music which is called "Sun Will Set," by Zoe Keating.
Choreographically, I never really felt like I had created the setting from the city of Valdrada. But the architectural imagery provided a starting place from which I was able to create sculptural shapes and invent some new movement.
I was originally planning on naming the piece Valdradum because of the above city described. Since my piece has since taken a new turn, I am unsure what to title it. Any suggestions for a title after viewing are welcome. After discussing the piece with my dancers, we decided that the intent or purpose of the choreography is to relate to relationships throughout life. All elements are connected in the great wonders of the universe. I wish there was even more time to work on this piece, but that's the way a production goes.
Here is an earlier version of the piece that was recorded a few weeks before the video shown above. It was actually recorded on Halloween night... which is connected with some of the dancers' appearances. Again, sorry about my shouting but this is a dance rehearsal.
Our next rehearsal will be Tuesday Nov, 16. At that time I must finish the piece to have adequate rehearsal time to clean and polish before the concert performance. As always, please feel free to leave comments or feedback. Thank you!
No comments:
Post a Comment