Day 2 I explored making a sequence with the German
Wheel.It feels way cooler than it looks
on the video.Still have more to learn
on this apparatus.The wheel I’m using
is new at SANCA & this is the first time I’ve used it.It’s awesome because it’s actually the right
size for me.I’ve been practicing on two
wheels, one too big & one two small…
Day 3 I finished editing The Picnic Table dance film project
with advice from my friend Reed.I had
three different ideas to do with the footage.First, I was going to run the 1 minute dance sequence with as few angle
changes as possible & all wide full body shots, then play that whole
sequence again in reverse & fast so it looked like it was rewinding.Next, I was going to play the sequence with
several quick cuts, using different angle & distance shots, &
repetitions of my favorite moves from the dance.After that, I had this idea to create a grid
of about 6 boxes with the different angle shots playing in them
simultaneously.I couldn’t figure out how
to transition from the more “normal” sequence to this grid sequence without it
being awkward.Plus I don’t know how to
shrink my clip & arrange multiple ones yet, so I decided to just
concentrate on the first two ideas like Reed suggested.My friend Oliver came over later in the week
& we found music to go with it.
Day 4 I finished the opening act for the SANCA staff show “Between
Raindrops: A Seattle Love Story,” & begun putting together the ending
act…The closer still needs lots of
work!But the opening is awesome &
uses umbrellas!I love umbrellas &
apparently umbrella was my first word as a baby.I’m not going to post the video of the
opening & spoil it for the show…You’ll just have to come see it.
One minute of choreography a day. Four days a week for the
month of July 2012.
This project is keeping me on my toes & keeping me creative 4 days a week even if I don't fully like that minute worth of choreography that is created each time.
So… posting stuff online in a timely manner hasn’t really
happened. Here is a little bit about the multiple projects & performances I have been doing in addition to this personal 1Minute Movement
challenge:
I was lucky enough to be a yellow galaxy girl character in a
film by Alicia Berger that is being projected in the Seattle Center fountain
August 3 & 10 at 9:30pm. More: https://www.facebook.com/events/361562243913856
Another
day I got to be a ninja doing acrobatics all around the city, including the new
Ferris wheel, while promoting a new line of cosmetics called Emotional
Brilliance by the store Lush.On
the weekends I had fun (& bruises, floor burns, & sore muscles) dancing
for DASS Dance in their show, “Untitled, 1982.” More: dassdance.org
Rehearsals for the Seattle Opera’s production of Turandot
directed & choreographed by Renaud Doucet are also finishing up soon &
the show opens at McCaw Hall August 4th.It is truly an amazing production & I’m honored to be dancing
in it & working with such great people at Seattle Opera. More: seattleopera.org
In addition to all that I am still teaching circus classes
& flying trapeze at SANCA.They have this great new pay-per-flight thing on Fridays from 6pm to 9pm
that is affordable enough to get a taste of flying without emptying your
pockets that I highly recommend to everyone (especially if you’ve never flown
before!)Flying trapeze is so
fun!!!
Week 1 created a partner study with Terry Crane, two days I created
different 1 minute sequences for the “Wind Blown” concept, & began
developing “Project Benjamin,” a dance piece created with my friend Ben’s
strengths & movement character in mind.
Week 2, I continued developing “Project Benjamin” for one
day, setting movement to “Bird Song” by Florence & the Machine.The next day I began teaching the piece
to Ben for my hour of 1MM working time.Day 3, I attempted to choreograph to a song called “Romantic Acrobat” by
Danni Rosner, yet I know the lyrics so well that I found myself “Micky Mouse-ing”
the words & being way too literal for my taste.I finished that hour of work feeling like the 1 minute I
choreographed was a failure.I
want to revisit that song & choreography, but find a way to move away from
too literal an interpretation of the lyrics.The fourth 1MM of the week came together literally at the
last hour.I was not feeling
creative as I was super tired & sore from the DASS Dance performances &
being an acrobatic ninja earlier in the day on Sunday. Finally, at 11pm before
going to bed, I went outside to sit on the picnic table in my back yard & cool
off.I started stringing together
a sequence of movements using the picnic table as my dance space & an
object to interact with.By 11:30pm
I had a minute worth of choreography that I liked way better than the “Romantic
Acrobat” sequence.I tried to film
the sequence, but it was too dark—which brings me to week 3.
Week 3 started off with choosing a costume look to go with
my back yard picnic table sequence & filming my 1 minute movement multiple
times & from multiple angles.For working purposes this 1MM is called “Picnic Table.”Day 2, I used my hour of creative work
time starting the process of video editing the clips together into a sequence
that uses the most appealing views & dynamic timing.Unfortunately, I’m not as fast at video
editing yet as I am with choreography.I had to start by converting the MP4 files into something like Apple Pro
Res 422 to get it into a format that works with my final cut pro editing
software…This short dance film is
still a work in progress, but I hope to spend time on it again & maybe
finish it in week 4.Day 3, I
created a fun little tango, salsa, & flamenco inspired sequence in the
living room because Ben was listening to Tango music before an instructor came
over to give him a tango lesson.I
have always admired Tango, but never tried actually it.Later in the week, I was lucky enough
to be there during Ben’s second lesson & the instructor let me join
in.Tango is awesome, & it’s
so fun to dance in those pretty ballroom shoes.Day 4’s creativeness wound up being working on the
choreography for the SANCA staff show, “Between Raindrops: A Seattle Love Story.”I am creating the opening & closing
numbers for the show, which will premier August 24th & run for
two weekends.I get three
rehearsals with the cast (who are mostly all used to being solo circus
performers, yipes!) to make two ensemble pieces.The opening act is mostly finished & uses lots of
umbrellas & acrobatic balancing.I love how the energy builds in this piece & it will be even better
when all 14 cast members are on stage!For the closing act I created a cute little partner sequence that will
appear somewhere in the act.I’m still
brainstorming ideas for the sequencing &the look/feel of the rest of the
closing act.I am hoping to
include things like juggling/passing, acro/hand to hand, diablo, &
tumbling, in addition to the dance movement…Only got one rehearsal left.Wish me luck!
Here’s the little sneak peek into the unpolished choreography for the closing act as it was
filmed for missing cast members:
Kiss Kiss!
Rachel
Sunday, July 22, 2012
One minute of choreography a day. Four days a week for the month of July 2012.
One hour a day.One minute of choreography a day.Four days a week for the month of July 2012.
You know how writers challenge themselves to write one page
a day...
Four days out of the week I will choreograph a minute's
worth of movement for each day.Some days I will have a specific assignment or goal in mind, & other
days I will choreograph whatever movement comes to the surface.At the end of the week I will share
little snippets of the process &/or some of the final one minute movements.
I would love to hear from you, so feel free to leave
comments or suggestions.After
watching the videos, which one minute movement would you like to see expanded
or developed?
At the end of the month come see my favorite one minute
movements performed live at an informal studio showing.
Week 1 done!
This week I worked the most on a creation called “Wind Blown,”
which had its share of success & failure.Also did the beginnings of a partner study with Terry Crane,
& created a phrase called “Project Benjamin” which I am creating
specifically to be performed by my friend Benjamin Weston at a park in Georgetown (Seattle).
Here’s the original “Wind Blown” page in my notebook that
sparked creation:
Here’s the page for the partner study with Terry Crane:
I’m really excited about this one because I love partnering
& the automatic opportunity to tell more of a story because we have two
people relating to each other on stage.It needs more development & it seems to take longer to create longer
sequences in the beginning because of the collaborative nature of partner work.
For “Project Benjamin” I just went out on the sidewalk one
day & thought about how I’ve seen my friend Ben dancing down the street
with his headphones on. Ben sent
me two pieces of music & I’m going to try to use one of them, expand the
dance material, & teach it to him later this week.
Come back soon to see videos of the One Minute Movements!
Oh boy, it looks like I'm advocating for arts funding these days. I got an email from a fellow dance artist & my former college professor, Mark Haim. Of his dances I have seen, I am very impressed by the way specific focused ideas drive his choreography.
Seattle International Dance Festival needs funding to off set costs of this year's festival & continue bringing the festival back. Check out the kickstarter & pledge within the next 10 days. Two generous donors will match any donations (up to $2,500).
This is the stop-motion video generated from the slow motion dance battle performed at Art on the Fly. Art on the Fly is the outdoor portion of the Seattle International Dance Festival running from June 1st to June 10th 2012 & featuring local as well as international dance artists.
Check back here on Wednesday June 6th before or after going to see Spotlight on Seattle or the International Series at Raisbeck Hall.
Thank you to everyone who participated & came out to see dancing on the sidewalks.
In case you missed it at the event, I posted this letter on the table during RandAll Dance's slow motion dance battle to address the issue of violence:
Dear Seattle International
Dance Festival Attendees,
This dance is supposed to be
entertaining, yet it is also not to be taken lightly.Every action has an inevitable
consequence.This slow-motion dance
battle is about capturing actions & responses.In light of the recent murders, I would like
to say that this slow motion dance battle was originally intended to show
entertaining interactions between the dancers & was not meant to encourage
violence in any way.It is still not
meant to encourage violence in any way.
As we play with actions &
responses, our number one rule is that NO ONE GETS HURT.
If you have young children
watching this, please make sure that they understand that this is play-fighting
& that hurting other people is wrong.
Take care that your everyday
actions towards others are compassionate, patient, & friendly to produce
good responses from those around you.When you’re angry or upset, take a deep breath, & think about the
consequences of your next actions.Sometimes, there’s no going back, the journey just goes on whether
you’re ready or not.
My thoughts go out to the
families & friends who have lost loved ones.