I'm currently working on a dance piece in my Choreographic Research class that i may or may not use as part of my senior work. Right now I have my lovely performers Hillary, Anina, Laura, Emily, Sophie and Lindsey taking part in this process with me. Processing my pieces either out loud or through writing always help my creative direction to flow...here's where I'm at currently...
As usual I’m interested in the body expressing not only through movement but with its voice and attitude as well. I’m interested in blurring the lines of dancer and singer while still letting the area in which each performer feels most comfortable be a place of departure. I hope to grow each performers comfort zone in themselves and break the barriers of what they allow and stop themselves from doing. We all have a voice, we all have a body. The body moves, the voice makes sounds… how can I create a freedom in this for my peers while still stressing expertise in the process?
One of the ways of blurring this line is with the material. My experience with post-modern dance is a phenomenon of the trained or untrained body doing pedestrian movement. In this same way I feel like lullaby’s and carols are the “pedestrian movement” of the voice; something that takes thought and energy and welcomes anyone to participate who is willing. Through the use of specific but pedestrian movement and a homophonic lullaby I hope to find a rhythm in the body and voice that allows both the dancer and the audience to feel the ease, peace, and joy of the lullaby serenity we experienced as children. However, I don’t want it to be a purely one toned piece (as lullaby’s tend to be. The coffee physically in the dance will serve as various ins and outs of the steady paced direction the dance wants to move in.
I’m interested in using live voices because I think something very different happens to a space when there are live voices resonating in the body versus a recorded sound. I chose this song for no other reason than it appealing to my nature. It hits something in me that gives me peaceful joy. In a stressful time, like the senior year of college, I am challenged by both the want to slow down through lullaby’s and the need to stay on track with my daily caffeine intake. This is a constant struggle in every artist’s life. The slowing down to allow creative ideas to grow while staying up to speed and getting “the bills paid”. In a perfect world I could move at my own speed and drink coffee for the taste, luxury, and comfort of its sweet aroma. I hope to have this dance contain a glimpse of the unbroken world I long to create in.
XoXo
