11 words to Populism - Elfchen
Doing a little creative exercise. Eleven words to Populism.
Start with one word, then a second line with 2, third with 3 and fourth with 4. Write populism at the end (11 words)!
Ease
Powerful force
Changes the world
Devours who we are
Populism
or
Verlockend
Welt verändern
Schaffen es gemeinsam
Ein Teil meiner Identität
Populismus
Leave yours in the comments!
Scrapbook - creative process thoughts
A lot of my ideas come from reading. There is so much information out there that is helpful for growth. Just 10 mins a day reading regularly gives me ideas that I can integrate and evaluate. Some fit, some don’t but the effort is worth the time! I especially find inspiration from books with ideas that are sustaining. Anything where I can answer positively to the question: will this information seem important in a few years? If the answer is yes then…
So a small idea, that of course is nothing new but fits where I am at right now: I am doing the preparation for my next project on Populism (more to come as it develops). There are many steps that I am taking here. The idea of what I want to create is pretty concrete. After putting in much conceptual work, I am in a creation phase with the ideas before I get into the studio. It’s a place where it is less about thinking, and more about creating. So by creating, I mean brainstorming all the possibilities on many levels within the framework ie. what are all the variations of the idea, different ways to express it or mix up its elements. What I’ve found in this part of creation, inspired by Adam Grants research, is quantity is key. Some variations I will like, some will be rejected, some will fit, some will be squeezed out. The more there is to choose from, the wider and further I can go.
One thing that helps with generating quantity is something we all did in school. The scrapbook. And these days a digital one! It’s simple really. Not just collecting and writing down thoughts, but a collage scrapbook of interesting pictures, books, videos, ideas, blog posts, dates, anything that has to do with the theme. Collecting them and collating them.
An example: yesterday I found plays by Aristophanes about demagogues with text that inspired me. I was reading through the acharnians and the knights. His text uses Mockery, blasphemy, parody and scatological in his plays about populists. How could I engage with this type of expression in my work? Does it fit? Maybe… The point being here is a new angle that I can use. Perhaps a wide stretch to what I am doing, but also another possibility.
Another example: I have been collecting pictures of Populists and demagogues through history. Their physical expression, poses, gestures, images that we all know, a physical characterisation. Yes, their posture is in my head, but having an example in front of me means I need less imagination (then energy and effort) to reproduce them. I also can use the image as a point of reference to start from to interpret in movement.
A point of observation: in general I think there isn’t too much new to create, there are more new perspectives on the old. This is where I am angling at right now. By using assemblage to create a fresh perspective on something that is present and known. I am connecting the pieces in a different way and drawing on ideas from different areas to present a new perspective.
Präsenz dance creation reflection
Well. It’s been a wonderful journey. So much has happened and I have grown so much in the idea. I started out wanting to explore what presence is and it diverted along many paths, coming around in different directions as I explored and made the piece.
It started as a theme a year ago. Added purpose. Many ideas came and went. Peter Brooks books and also Jacques Lecoqs’ takes were inspiring, as was the whole idea of spontaneous art - Happenings. - things occurring live in the moment. My trip to New York shined some light. I went to a jazz club and listened to a great concert. But it was what happened after the concert that left the biggest impression. In this basement club with room for maybe 100 people max, the musicians did a jam session. The atmosphere was electric, and so in tune, musicians coming and going, improvising, really there in the moment, in tune. It fascinated me. The way that they responded to each other and kept everything going with such quality.
So presence wasn’t just me here in the moment filling the room with my energy, but the response I give to the world around me. Step in Giles Deluxe and his philosophy “Stay in motion, despise conformity, embraces difference, create your own values and identity, make connections, experiment, seek something new.” It all fit so well together to happenings and creating in the moment.
The one thing that I hung onto in conceptualising the project was the need for a goal. A need to create something that has quality, rather than frivolity. And that is what I did. All creation needs a framework, when it is completely free it is just for play and this has a value in itself. In my art, I am creating for a goal to present and connect to others. A completely open result in my opinion would be less directed and of lower quality due to what one can do through repetition reflection and refinement.
The basis for all the choreography and the music in the piece was responding in the moment. The response exercise I posted gave much of the movement. It was even said that most the improvisation looked choreographed. My thought is that is what happens when you have a specific purpose that is not a dream away but ready, aware and receptive - present.
In retrospect this can also be confusing to the audience. I think it is something where it you are not too sure what to make of it. It is at a level where it looks set, but is it? There is a harmony in the moment, connections between the dancers and their movement, yet it is also not directed in a clear direct refined way. The advantage is it grows in the moment allowing for the suspense that live creation has. Something to think about for the next pieces if I choose to go this way.
Writing the concept for funding helped in clearing exactly what I wanted to do with the theme. Of course budgets limited some aspects of the realisation, though I wouldn’t say that much ended up different.
Once I had a clear plan of combining the body and different elements as a major aspect of the theme, the rest fell into place. It was clear what I wanted to do and then it was only working out the details. I think there was much that could have changed, but at the same time staying true to the concept was in itself a task and in the end it all worked well.
There were many firsts for me. Of course in the ideas. I set myself a challenge to work with live music and musicians. I am grateful for the collaboration with Roland and Arne. They were the right two people to have as part of the project. Improvisational wizards, yet able to keep things in enough order for the dancers to dance to. The best of both worlds. As a first experience for me in my creations it worked really well. I now have an experience from which in the future as reference to work from. It’s not that I don’t/didn’t know what to do. It’s about having the confidence, clarity and decisiveness to get quicker to results and know what I want. Also how to express it to them. This experience was very valuable. The energy their music brought to the piece was amazing, and they were so flexible and easy to work with. I’d love more rehearsals to be able to realise more depth and detail, still I was very satisfied with the results. The desire is there to take everything further and I hope to do so when the next opportunity presents itself.
In general the piece for me was about trying out new things and ways of working, connecting with different types of art whether it be musicians or using text in a crossover form. In many ways I have planted seeds that will grow as I make my next pieces. This part of the experience and personal growth has been awesome.
I think another thing I learned is that there is so many different ways to go. So much variety and so many ideas where I really only just scratched the surface of what they could be. Something interesting was that I felt quite sad after the performances finished, struggling to let go of the piece. In searching for answers as to why, it struck me that a lot of the ideas felt like they were just beginning to grow. There is a huge thirst in me to take it all further and develop each part in much more depth and detail. This is something that may happen if the chance presents itself to repeat the project. Let’s see.
Most thankful I am for all the support I received. In some ways this felt like my idea that I was directing. And it was. Though in comparison to other projects this was quite one sided in the conceptualisation. I knew what I wanted to do and implemented it, drawing in the people, the funding, the resources to be a part of it and make it happen.
Sometimes I am inspired by the people and bring their ideas onto stage. This time the artistic vision was was more or less me. Within the framework I integrated the inspiration of others. Much of the movement was created in collaboration with the dancers through improvisational tasks that brought out authentic movement. It all fit within the set framework that I gave. The overarching ideas were mine, the implementation a collaboration.
And here I am, about to embark on a new project that is kind of out of my comfort zone again. And nice so. I love it! Pushing my own edge. Gaining on the experience gained. Do the things that scare you! This next one does… I will put in a lot of effort to realise it and that is exciting. I love things where I don’t really know how they are going to work out, where there are risks involved and where I am challenged to expand and grow. It’s been that way with presence and the new project will be even more so. New areas and themes, ways of expressing ideas. I am challenged to use my knowledge and skills and to build on them. I am challenged to try, fail and reassess. I am challenged to expose myself to things that I don’t know or am not necessarily very good at yet. And this I love. Growth is such an integral part of being alive.
Katharina Bopp, Anna Menzel, Grit Schade and Janin Sameith - Photo R. Fischenick
Some general growth thoughts
Things that I love that I have relearned recently:
Do the things I love
A teacher needs to teach
A choreographer needs to choreograph
A dancer needs to dance
Get to work!
Every class, every rehearsal, every small decision counts.
Be in sync with my needs. What do I really want to do right now?
The body knows, I just need to listen.
Take every opportunity in the moment. Make the most of them.
Put myself in the best position possible - it creates many opportunities.
Slay resistance! It’s just resistance, slaying it is the fun part!
Do the uncomfortable - these things bring me the most growth.
No matter how silly it is, give it a go! Give it a try and you’ll be surprised what you find!
Lack of focus is a good sign, it’s a beginning and only gets better the more I move in.
Be bold, be decisive, be wrong, be able to change.
Start with lots of ideas, quantity not quality.
Generate lots of iterations of an idea, then refine later.
Go hard in the beginning, then let creative procrastination take over, to sort through the results. Come again fresh.
Sometimes it is a step back that is needed, to take greater steps forward.
It’s not what I achieve, but the way there. Learn from the process.
Be happy with failure as a great learning experience. Plaster it on the wall and use its emotion as motivation!
Shower Essay
I love this idea: the top idea in your mind is the one that you think about when you are in the shower. There is a fantastic essay from Paul Graham that explains it in detail http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html
The premise: of all the things pay our attention to do during the day, it is in the shower that the most important ideas for us personally come to the surface! As I think about it, it has huge resonance.
I guess it’s that moment where you allow your mind to drift. A place where by drenching yourself with water and connecting through the senses to your body, you are centring in the moment physically. This act connects you with the present moment releasing control of your thoughts. It’s a space where the mind naturally flows! Enter subconscious, ambient thought, where things percolate and ideas come forward, that which is important to you is able to rise to the surface.
I must admit that until I read the essay I was less aware of the shower moments importance. Of course I have now started watching and consciously taking note of what I am thinking about in the shower. Intuitively I know that a lot of great ideas do come in the shower. There is also a lot of self talk that comes up for me. Things like sharing ideas with people and making sense of situations that I find are important. A lot of planing also rise to the surface. Future based creativity and planing for the day ahead and longer term.
And what better time is there than in the shower to let the mind do its work? It happens every morning and isn’t an extra time related option. The shower is a regular and part of my daily routine. Sure it’s usually short (I’m a cold shower fan), yet long enough to let my thoughts wander. This morning my mind drifted to thoughts about my daughter and how proud I am of her growth. She took the bus home by herself (with friends) last night and at 10 that’s a great achievement. And now I have a free weekend to spend with her and connect… obviously, after being busy the last weeks with the dance project, something that is important to me right now!
Something that Graham hits upon in his essay is how you can only indirectly influence these thoughts. They are by design drifting thoughts. If you controlled them, they wouldn’t drift. His point was to be aware of them and realise when they are less than constructive. Of course, as with everything, awareness is the first step to making lasting change.
For example the essay highlights the wasted time aspect. Wasting time thinking about what I would call “drama” or sink holes. Graham specifically talks about money and disputes. Subjects with high reactivity. I would expanded it even to things out of your control. All these things get in the way of the creativity through expended energy. They are reactive subjects rather than productive. In the shower, being aware of these thoughts, I can take a moment to recognise them and be aware of where I am.
I’m going to keep observing my shower thoughts and journal them. I’ll update you all on what comes up and its meaning for me. I’m guessing it’s going to be interesting and good for a laugh, if not a mind blowing revelation.
Presence Workshop idea
Presence describes the unique quality we bring to the world.
Your presence is the most precious gift you can give to another human being.
Marshall B. Rosenberg
Description of the workshop:
Presence
What does it mean to embody mindfulness and presence in dance? How can we enhance our movement awareness through being present?
Embark on a transformative dance workshop exploring presence in the moment — the “now” where everything flows. Through improvisational tasks, games and sensory practices, we will discover our inner world, delving into its feelings, sensations, thoughts, impulses, and preferences. Our journey continues to examine the outer world stimulus and our connection to our environment with its dynamic changes. Guided by our newfound awareness, we will question the impact of our presence on both the inner and outer worlds, crafting a new “now"— a fresh, embodied experience that resonates with the present moment.
Join us in discovering the art of being truly present through movement and self-exploration.
With thanks to Ioulia Kokkokiou
Presence Project process
I was thinking a lot about how I work through a projects theme and process it
Presence process reflection
Created a list of questions about the subject of things I don’t know and problems to solve
Researched the subject directly and indirectly (other fields)
Talked to peers about their perspectives
Worked out what I find interesting in the theme and started to shape what I want to say
Worked on a theory/perspective and its connections
Created concepts and models in my head
Tried them out in the studio in exercises and tasks
Evaluated the results and examined the ideas anew
Kept those ideas that work and threw out those that didn’t
The ideas/concepts that did work I refined and collated
The results I used to structure a piece, as the base inspiration for a choreography
Found connections between the pieces
Explored in a choreographic setting the pieces, giving them meaning and space to breathe and grow
Now comes the moment where the joy of working on the completed choreography starts.
It is a constant process between the end of the first draft and the premiere. Refining, changing, bringing in new perspectives, experimenting each time. Playing, giving it life. In each moment I try to pick out what is important to me and expand these areas.
The choreography itself:
I choose to inspire through my work, engage and provoke thought.
I offer a perspective and a vision that others can experience and evaluate.
I desire to take people on an emotional journey through my creations.
I wish for people to connect - with the work, with each other
It’s physical, it’s emotional, it’s connected.
It’s brings artists together and has them express themselves in one moment.
It’s shares the ideas as a group and soon to an audience.
It is important to reach people with my work.
To be heard.
To be seen.
Visible.
Random thoughts on playing games
I love playing. It’s so natural and fun. There is so much creativity to it too. Experimentation and expression.
There are 3 types of playing: for something, against something or with something.
2 types of games: Finite and infinite games - Games to win and games to stay in the game.
Among others, two types of players: performers and creators - illusionists vs artists - people who think they know and people with true experience.
I love the idea from Twyla Tharp who expressed as she goes into the studio and she sees it as a blank canvas - endless possibilities of what to create.
What we create is an expression of lived experience. Just taking it that one step further. Each iteration a new step, a new try. It’s expansion and growth all happening before your eyes. Also in the physical body.
So in the dance creation process, there is the time to explore. This is the creative game the one where we are here to stay in the game. To keep creating, playing, finding new ideas. Working out the possibilities, trying new versions. No goals, just exploration.
Then we come to the second game with a goal - the output. A performance or a showing. An event dictated by time and expectations. It draws energy and focus together to express the learned information.
Yet a dance piece is a constant creation where playing with the movement is part of the game. It is always alive otherwise we could just put on the video.
Perfect doesn’t exist, but better than the last one does. Keep going, there is always a new improved version to make. Small steps and then large.
Even if the new one isn’t better, I now know the difference (or what doesn’t work)!
Present moment decisions
In a follow up to the ideas on Presence, one concept that captures me at the moment is the importance of all the small decisions that we make. The idea comes from Shane Parrishs’ book Clear Thinking.
His idea paraphrased is that the small decisions we make every moment, every day are ones that really count. Big decisions, which we place so much importance on, are meaningful yet relatively clear. It is the work we do each day that adds up and makes us who we are. Whether we spend time distracted or in the present moment, whether we choose to go to bed on time or stay up late once, doesn’t seem to matter so much in the present, but over time has a large effect. Small decisions added up over time become habits, affecting who we are and how we see the world.
In connecting that to the theme of presence, the present is really the only thing we can affect. Our actions don’t happen in the past or the future, they happen now. So never underestimate the power of small decisions in each moment, like choosing to be here or offer gratitude. It is really taking part in life, choosing to interact fully with the world around us. There great things can happen!
Presence Movement Exercise
In researching and exploring for my latest dance project on the theme of Presence I’ve found an exercise that captures the moment. It’s simple and powerful in ways I am still discovering.
In a room, or with a partner:
Come into the present moment by closing your eyes and breathing. Recognise how you feel right now
Slowly open your eyes and take in the room and surroundings. What captures your attention?
Ask the question: How do I feel in relation to this external stimulus? Go with the feeling and explore how it makes your body want to move.
Continually update the moment with the questions above: What captures my attention? How do I feel/want to move?
Play with the moment, continually connecting with the external and internal worlds.
What can the stimulus be? Forms in the room, of objects, light, shade, temperature, colours, sounds, music, people - their presence, reactions and movement… really anything. Of course our eyes are often attracted to things that change.
What comes through the exercise is connection to both the world around me and myself, all in the present moment. It creates a sense of play that is curious and open. The outside world is continually changing providing new stimulus. The response in the body itself continually affects the moment in a circular form, making it unique and new. The resulting spontaneity and creativity that comes really needs to be experienced.
Presence
Presence is my next dance theme.
I try to simplify and define what it is, in the context that I am using it.
Presence is 2 things:
This moment, the here and now
How I interact with the world around me, the inner and outer world, sending and receiving
Here in the now is spontaneity and availability to the moment, focused without moving into the past or future.
How I interact with the world is 2 parts:
Receptivity to the world around me, noticing what is happening outside of me, awareness of the outer world
Awareness of how I feel, my inner world of emotions and authenticity, preference and desire. Actively expressing them
These two worlds interact or flow - in the moment.
The strength of my connection to both these worlds, in the now, determines my presence.
Thoughts?
Movement idea to the feeling of overwhelm
Here is an idea that I have found useful to experiment with. Intense physical movement for 5-10secs in moments when I am overwhelmed or stuck.
Recently I have been watching myself, consciously aware of how I am in the moment. I notice that when I feel overwhelmed or stuck, there is freeze in my body. Sometimes it is a moment, but often this feeling/state lingers. Physically I catch myself hardly breathing, my body is still and it's like there is a rock in my stomach. Often the trigger is my thoughts. It's uncertainty about the future, things out of my control, feelings of too much to do, high expectations to meet or that I have to force myself to get something done against my own will.
When I’m feeling stuck/overwhelmed, of all possible physical actions to take, the one I find of most value is a moment of intense movement. I run on the spot as fast as I can with full tension (at an “over the top speed”) for 5-10 seconds. If I can’t run, I imitate the movement in sitting with the same intensity by moving my legs and arms. Though it sometimes it takes a few attempts, the effect of reaching such intensity and holding it for that short period is immense.
I notice the intense action causes feeling to come back into my body. (A small warning: it can be quite uncomfortable.) The feeling of stuck releases… Emotions that I have been avoiding come back into my body and in time clear. (A fascinating study shows the body clears a natural emotional response on average within 90 seconds).
Sometimes it can take a few attempts. As my body becomes present with the movement, the emotions enter and dissipate it is liberating. I am left with a huge amount energy and agency. The restoration of energy and natural flow return providing relief. I have the desire to move and breathe.
The feeling of stuck/overwhelm and its connection to trauma being released through movement, fit well into Peter Levines trauma response theory:
We store trauma in the body because our body was unable to respond to a perceived danger in the moment. Instead of moving to fight or flight from the freeze state, the body gets stuck. This happens if the freeze state is activate for too long. This causes us to overwhelm, not believing in agency to change, escape or beat the situation. It is the feeling of helplessness, things are outside of our control and reaction feels pointless. Levines theory is to create change by reenacting the physical response that was unavailable or missing.
The idea of danger and trauma in our world today is also interesting due to conditioning. In our everyday lives there are few real threats to our existence. Yet small innocuous moments can often trigger us. This is a trigger of memories of past experiences, associations with times we felt in danger. Often overblown reactions and triggers to setback or someones comment act out like a “tantrum”. Again a natural physical response.
Society doesn’t like such reactions and so as children we learn to hold in feelings and suppress them. Our body course wants something else (whether justified or not). The nervous system is far quicker to trigger us than our rational brain can respond. The suppression is the freeze state. It creates a conflict between our natural physical response and the perceived safety and consideration of others. The freeze state leaves us stuck.
To get around this, in conversation it’s easier to respond and work through the moment. Being conscious and aware, we can rationalise, recognise the danger and take a moment before responding- The mindful pause. With a real threat, we can act! Problems arrises when there is not someone or something to react to. Our bodies perception, though irrational is real. Then, turning to a moment of intense movement can help.
Though I connect this idea with feeling stuck, it seems to also work well in other less dramatic states. These states connect to the idea of trauma but to a lesser intensity:
lethargy,
resistance
procrastination
lack of focus
unwillingness
reluctance
emptiness
These states I find I experience more often than I would like. So here I am, running at high intensity on a regular basis!
A picture I have in my mind of the process: the effort of pushing a ball over the top of the hill. The rest takes care of itself….
So if you are feeling a little blahhh, give it a go! See what happens!
More thoughts about this from Nicole LePera: https://twitter.com/Theholisticpsyc/status/1632011612973576192?s=20
Interesting challenges...
I’ll give a little bit of context here about what I am attempting and trying.
I started over a year ago with an exercise called spotlight. It is very simple: everyone stands in a circle. One person enters the circle with a task, eg. to move to the music. They stay until someone else enters who then replaces them. It’s about connecting with yourself (moving to music) and also being seen (entering the circle you are in the spotlight!). It has an element of group feeling and decision making - one decides when to enter. There are many variations of the task, from the person being able to leave voluntarily, adding a second or 3rd person in the circle simultaneously, to specific tasks within the circle to do with movement and tasks for the circle itself. Each variation requires courage and vulnerability to differing degrees.
At the same time I have been also working on ideas to do with presence and connection. Here one task is to hold a dual focus. Explanation: we have both an inner and outer focus. An inner focus being our physical bodies, our emotions, how I feel in the moment and the impulses that arise. An outer focus is mindfully seeing and recognising people and things around us in the room. The combination of both is a dual focus, seeing something and being at the same time aware of how I feel/my reactions. It is always there, but mostly subconsciously.
So I have adapted/combined these exercises to work on presence and connection.
The task is to enter the circle and hold in ones focus a connection to the people around and move to ones own feeling. At the same time the people around are asked to hold the same focus to the person in the circle and in movement react.
Perhaps it is complex… And maybe that is where it is a struggle. Too many layers at once?
What I am surprised by as I set the exercise was the reluctance and the resistance to entering the circle. And I don’t put it in a way that entering the circle is a big deal. It is always a challenge for some, but as I stated above this process has been repeated many times in different variations and I use the experienced level of take-up as my baseline. The resistance I find is to this specific task. My feeling is it has to do with the connection and being seen expressed through a reluctance to enter this space, mentally and physically. It is as if the mindfulness awakens vulnerabilities that are always there, but are ignored and being in touch with them causes a form of social anxiety.
This brings me back to why I find it intriguing. We are actually seen everywhere we go simply by being present, whether it is conscious or not, be it in a cafe, walking down the street or in an interview. So it is intriguing to me, what the difference is…
In front of a peer group, focus on personal awareness, being seen, complexity? Possibly all of them at once? That can understandably be overwhelming.
And it is a divergence from my own feelings where I find the whole situation exciting and engaging. Of course, different people have different feelings and they are very much to be respected! My purpose here is not to overwhelm, but to find the edges. I am doing that, but wary.
"Tanz mit mir!" Reflection!
What was “Tanz mit mir!”?
The best way I can describe it was a personal declaration of love for dance. Yes, that is what it was. It was an evening of all the things that I love about dance, expressed in one experience. Being physically tuned to ones body, moving to music in different ways, living the moment, spontaneous and engaged. This combined with performing and observing dance in a space where ones senses are heightened. It creates an incredible intensity of feeling that causes the exuberance of passion all in a supportive immersive atmosphere. Merging the choreography and dancers personal abilities with the venue of the Schloss made the experience unique. The evening was about being present and living the moment.
It was very also personal. The attributes of the experience as above, are what hooked me as a 6 year old to dance and make it my career. If you haven’t been on stage as a dancer living the experience, in some ways this evening is as close (without actually performing) as you can get… and then some! The some being the lack of need for control, not knowing in advance what will happen and allowing oneself to be vulnerable, let go and be taken on an adventure that is real!
The format of the project has been a dream of mine for many years. I have had a vision to do this kind of interactive immersive piece because it excites me just thinking about it. It is sharing in a personal way with others what I love about dance. The dream itself has evolved and expanded. With the experiences I have now had and the development of my skills in creating dance and it was the right time for me to embark on this concept. What I have learned through the experience is immense.
We had 100 audience members over the 2 shows and from the participation and reaching my goals I can safely say that it was a huge success. 98% of the audience joined in the whole way through and that last 2 percent managed to find in the evening a moment where they overcame their fears and joined (about half way). I don’t think you can get much better than that with an activity that needs people to allow themselves to be vulnerable. It’s a big credit to the supportive nature of the creation and the feeling of the performers who were involved. Seeing the joy and resonance that came out of the people who experienced lived the event makes me so proud and thankful.
This project has been my most fulfilling so far. The size and scope with the number of participants involved and taking on responsibility for the project alone, has been a huge journey with amazing growth. I’ve overcome so much resistance to get it done. It’s not always easy convincing people of something that they have never experienced. From rewriting the concept 5 times after having it rejected because it wasn’t understood, to people who I thought would be interested to come, not making the effort to show up the list goes on and on… there were dancers and musicians who cancelled… but these challenges made the results even greater. I was forced to be unwavering in my belief in the project, open myself to being vulnerable, find new ways of doing things and attract in the right people to get my vision into reality.
Do things that scare you! And this was one. Pushing against my fears is exactly what I needed here and wanted. There was never a moment where I wanted to give up. It was always only a question of how. The trust in my own ability and expansion of my skills has been most fulfilling.
It can be hard breaking new ground, convincing people to believe in a vision that they have never experienced. In an interactive and immersive piece too, there are so many unknowns. A lot of the time through the process I had a feeling I was making it up on the spot, with so many variables in play. This was a blossoming of my creativity - spontaneously making decisions, acting and reacting in the moment, much like the piece itself.
Through “Tanz mit mir!” I’ve found and met new people who were truly interested in my vision, expanded my own network, overcome many obstacles in planning and marketing, created, choreographed and coordinated a 1:45h site specific performance on a large scale (28 performers, away from the luxury and comfort of a theatre), even perhaps found a new audience (about 25% of the audience I knew, where usually in Wiesbaden it is the other way round). All this on a very limited budget, meaning a lot relied on good will.
Thankful I am too, for all the people who believed. I planted a seed that opened the minds of those involved to what is possible and I am thankful for all their support. It doesn’t always take a lot, but being prepared to break new ground needs an openness and trust that is special. The amount of learning, growth and maturation has been immense.
Tanz mit mir! Spoiler...
So I get the question what is “Tanz mit mir!” actually? And perhaps to answer it, I’ll give a short description.
Warning: Don’t read any further if you want a surprise…
“Tanz mit mir!” starts by collecting the audience together (outside the Schloss - German for palace/villa) where a dancer/actor starts a series of games with the audience moving them, placing them, attempting to have them to move in various ways. The audience is then split into 4 groups that then enter the Schloss itself.
Each group is sent to a different room inside the Schloss where a dance experience awaits. The experiences are are a mixture of participation and performance - an offer to participate to move in a simple way which anyone can easily achieve. The participation element captures the essence of the dance presented which - its atmosphere and the moment. This is expressed without words. The second part part of the experience is an immersive performance where inspiration can be found as to where the dance can go. This happens all around at various stages in the sequence.
The audience is then lead from one room to the next. The evening concludes with all the groups being brought to the entrance where a live band is playing and together together they have the opportunity to move freely to live music (and the bar is just around the corner).
“Tanz mit mir!” the interactive immersive dance evening!
Tanz mit mir!
How to describe a project without giving too much away? Well it’s always a great question!
Tanz mit mir is an interactive dance project/performance. What does this mean?
I’ve always loved the idea of breaking down the barriers between performers and the audience and this is what I am doing here. It’s taking the performance viewing experience to a new place. In my pieces I try to create an atmosphere which engages the senses. In dance it is through feeling conveyed in movement and its perception by the audience. There is also the atmosphere created in the setting or site where the dance is performed. This itself is not unusual. So the question is how to use these ideas to take it further, more intensive and a little different?
The genre of immersive theatre really interests me. I have been to a few performances and found the experience amazing (If anyone is in London, go see Punchdrunk as they take the genre to a whole new level). It is the idea that a performance happens all around the viewer. The viewer is free to be in the space and the action happens all around them. Each member of the audience has a unique perspective and is immersed - closer to a real life view than a 3 wall theatre. This perspective really heightens the senses as one is surrounded by the action. It does create a little bit of insecurity, but at the same time opens the possibilities of what can happen. Immersive theatre is impressive, yet it still has the audience as a silent participant. The action can be extended to involve the audience, but it in itself it doesn’t take it to the point where one wants to dance.
To get the audience to dance, I needed to create openings and offerings of participation as part performance. In any performance there is a relationship between audience and performers. It is usually that the performers express and audience listens. Yes ,there is an energetic component that flows back and forward (most obvious when the audience applauds) yet convention has it as a very much one-sided relationship. So to develop this relationship and have the audience more involved, without giving them a specific task is a good challenge. In exploring this idea, my realisation is a direct connection is needed, yet to not be forceful, room that each person can be themselves. It is taking part without being the main actor. For dance, this means moving in the room without having the pressure of having to fulfil a role or get anything right. Being able to go as far as I want/can without being overwhelmed. It is also allowing oneself to be guided or lead, still with the space to feel free. Someone there to “hold my hand” and support me in a place of the unknown. A delicate balance! So how do I create this experience while also connecting with dance, what makes it so wonderful and how I can feel free in a spontaneous unknown moment?
Mary Whitehouse the dance therapist pioneer used the phrase: Birds fly, fish swim and humans move. Dance is the extension of movement with feeling. It has many purposes but the main one being self expression. If it is stylised, formed or left free, this inner need to move is always there. Just like a mind wanders when left to itself, give the body time and space and it will become restless. So here is the idea is to connect to ones body through dance. That means not only being surrounded (immersed) in dance but also being physically connected to the event.
Dance being a physical form of expression the next question is how to do this only using our bodies (without words)?
A lot of human connection comes from eye contact, mirroring. Yes we use our language skills, but it is the nonverbal communication that really connects us to each other. Physical presence. You can see this in the digital world of today, the way that text messages communicate but to have a real connection you need to meet in person. And these social skills and physical engagement, even to the point of physical contact (touch) have such a strong connective element. Also the sharing of common goals (moving together) creates a moment of attachment which when desired is comforting. So it is the connection to people that once established allows for spontaneous exploration.
The movement in the piece has been purposely kept simple. All the interactive parts are easy to follow along. There is nothing right or wrong in what one does. This is to provide a secure basis from which to explore movement. How does this movement feel? There is the possibility to extend and expand, but even still it is only if desired. Let’s say the base is something that I can rely on and if I don’t know what to do, go back to.
Using these tools of connection and movement I think I have stumbled upon an experience that makes “Tanz mit mir!” interesting and unique.
I’ll be very interested to hear peoples experiences from the evening. As we have been rehearsing and trying out the ideas, my feeling is there is a point where I want more. Rather than it being enough to have repeated a step a few times, it awakens a desire inside me to explore further. I can’t stand still for long. There is something in the experience that creates a lust for more!
Touch Reflection
Last week before our premiere of Touch. Here is a little reflection about the piece, process and where we are at.
It’s been an amazing process in that I have extended myself and learnt/tried new things. I put this piece together by creating duets each with a perspective on the them touch. They have a lot in common, yet are quite different. There is a lot of intensity to the sensation of touch and this has been one of the aims to express and explore this. It’s more than a feeling in a way. It’s not an emotion, but it emotes. It is an awareness that is extremely close and personal. So there have been many risks taken in exploring the them and for the trust from everyone involved I am extremely thankful.
The piece itself is always hard to gauge beforehand. It has come together well. I had a vision of where I wanted to go with it, yet it was very disperse. Threading it all together has helped a lot to create a focus and give it even more intensity. The balance is about right. Sometimes I wonder whether there is enough space and time for each idea, but this is often the choreographic conundrum. What to leave in and what to let go of. But any good piece needs different levels so even just using the best ideas can be too much if there is nothing to balance them.
I started off trying to link and connect each piece so one flowed into another. And I quickly realised that this didn’t work. The numbers are too intense and as I watch them, afterwards I need the moment to breathe and let it sink in. This happens in the piece itself and also afterwards. It’s a journey that is emotionally intense and need some time to settle afterwards. I’m very happy with the clarity of ideas, some come out stronger than others. The focus is there. The sensation can always be more, but it is at a great level already (still a couple of runs to go).
I also think quite a bit about how far I and we (LightArtDance) as a group have come. This is the 5th piece that we have done and each time my feeling is we go further and expand what is possible with the group. The choreography is challenging for them yet makable. Their performance is intense with each dancer having their own personality. I must say in working indirectly with Authentic Movement ideas, a lot has come out of the whole process that has been real.
For me as a choreographer I can see my progress and development. I started out back in the day where a 10 min piece with 2 min numbers was a challenge to fill. What movements did I want to put in, how could I express the ideas that I had clearly. These days it seems to be the opposite. The 6 min piece of music is not enough to explore a small portion in detail. I’m left with a feeling of wanting more. In the whole evening I am holding myself back to limit it to 1h (which is anyway about as much as can be taken in by an audience) and in this 1h there are generally too many ideas to fit in/ that are explored. It’s a continual process and I learn from each iteration.
I’m also happy with the risks that I have taken. The theme itself is a risk and could have gone anywhere (touch being very personal). Also the process of working with the material I have (dancers, stage ideas, set). A lot of the time I came into the studio with an open theme and exploration. Spontaneously there and awake to what the process of creating movement with the dancers brings and where the feeling of the moment is going. Construction is fine and I do it a lot, but there are times where allowing a piece to develop takes it somewhere previously unknown. This has been something new to do this kind of thing on such a scale. This time only on occasion have I mapped out the music beforehand. It seems underprepared not to do this, but it also allows an idea to take the time it needs and for me to react to and be inspired and present in the moment. There was a thought about creativity that I read and it went along the lines of intuition only has a chance when we allow our minds to wander and in being open and “underprepared” the space is there for this to happen.
Well this is where we/I am at!