Reflection on Der Raum Zwischen Uns

Der Raum Zwischen Uns is my latest dance project performed on Saturday 4th September 2021 outdoors at Neroberg Wiesbaden.  It was funded by the Kulturamt Wiesbaden in its “Utopia 21 - Wie wollen wir leben?” grants.  The project involved 29 dancers of all different levels and abilities in a 1h piece.

Here is a reflection on my aims and the process.  I am so thankful for the experience and all that I have managed to create and learn.

The theme for my submission for a dance project was:  distance, closeness and the reality of our world living with COVID

From the beginning I wanted to do a project that was bigger than what I had done before.  It meant taking the opportunity to make something out of the grant that I received in getting together a larger group of dancers (some professionals and some amateurs) and get more people from the city involved.  To achieve this aim I needed to connect with people here in Wiesbaden interested in dance, not just through creating a project to support but through having them also dance and be involved.  

In my pieces, I am not satisfied with just creating dance but I want to bring the audience an experience.  Whatever it is and in whatever form it takes, my aim is to have my creation involve the audience and engage.  The piece should create a thought provoking examination of an idea, where I present a point of view that can be understood on different levels. My desire is also that the concept is open to personal interpretation.  This is where I started with Der Raum Zwischen Uns.

The idea came to me to present onstage real people with whom we all could connect with.  It was important to the chosen theme - distance, closeness and the reality of our world living with COVID -   to make it real… “it could be me”.  That was also my reasoning behind using a range of people - 3 different generations - made up of amateurs, students and professionals. They give a unique blend, authentic in how they express themselves and to which the audience can relate.

In each dance I set myself the task to capture the feeling of a certain moment or a point of view through a situation.  I used distance and it’s emotional pull as a reference to awaken feelings of uncertainty and longing.  It has been a very present theme over the last year with social distancing and the uncertainty living with COVID has created.  Also the idea that there is something out there (COVID) that we can’t see also creates uncertainty on a daily basis.

Being outdoors it was possible to set the piece on two stages.   Two stages and the gap between them was important to showing themes of  distance as well as the general the experience. Being separated, they created a gap, which helped in the setting of a narrative, as well allowing space between the dancers to be shown.  

The first part of the piece was reflective of our emotional response, a study on space between couples and how that space feels.  When you  is aware of the space between you and someone else it is a strong motivator.  Close the gap you feels closeness, grow the gap, separation.  Is the distance desired then it calms, is it undesired then it creates tension and pressure.  In the study, we go to from here is always open with each moment providing a possibility that speaks for itself.  A relationship takes two people and is dependent on the desire for connection and what type of connection that is.

The second part of the piece was situational.  I tried my hand at a narrative showing different reactions to the new situation created by the corona virus.  I find it fascinating that there are so many different responses to what has happened.  The one thing we share in common is this has happened to us all.  We all have an emotional response regarding the new situation.  My creation is also reflection of looking what is important to us/me in the end.  By taking away the things that we need/love, we realise more what is important to us.

I learned a lot from organising the project myself.  From engaging dancers, keeping in a budget, organising rehearsals to the whole production side, there was much to do and we got it done.  I asked for help where I needed it and managed to bring the best that I could within the scope of what was possible.  For all the help I received I am very grateful!

Having a lighting rehearsal was perhaps the one thing that I needed that wasn’t possible due to costs, but otherwise I was very happy with the results.  The dance side was fantastic.  The quality of the dancers and their engagement was something I am proud of.  Their expression and interpretation, bringing to life my ideas in their own way was very impressive and carried the piece.

Perhaps costuming is a weakness that I can improve on for my next projects.  Getting a clear line of thinking and finding a design would help.  Making decisions about costuming and believing in them.  Here I see my limitations and space for growth.

In these weaknesses perhaps the best thing is to ask for help/advice from people who are knowledgable about them.  Definitely on the technical side I have people who can help and through doing the process even more have emerged.  It doesn’t need them to invest a lot of time, but to offer an opinion is something that people are mostly willing to do.  It’s networking from my side  and taking initiative in making contact.  As I have learned, my ideas and skills can be great, though those of a group can be even greater.  There is always more that one can reach together!

A bit of self praise here.  On reflection, I see many moments in my piece that were created subconsciously.  I am amazed at how things fit together and even express intriguing thoughts that I hadn’t meant to create.  The blossoming of creative processes continue to surprise me.  And the clarity with which the ideas came across was quite fulfilling.

There is a certain flow in the integration of ideas, finding meaning in things that were already created.  Spontaneity in creation and then clarification and crystallisation of the idea towards the end through reflection.  It’s letting a piece grow by itself and take on a life of it’s on, where I see myself as the gardener or parent, forming it at the edges, yet allowing a piece to evolve by itself! Magic!!

A big thank you to everyone involved and the Kulturamt Wiesbaden for their support!

In full length, here for the moment:

Enjoy!