"Looping" dress rehearsal

     In Atlanta, I had an incredible experience sitting back and observing another person's process, but as soon as I got back to NY I needed to be my own artist again.  Stop watching, start doing.  So I began creating a new dance.  "Looping" was originally presented as a part of the 2012 Choreographer's Canvas at MMAC.  While I was rehearsing it, I realized that I wanted to extend my network of collaborators and meet new artists.  I opened my dress rehearsal to photographers who were potentially interested in dance photography.  I had a room full of incredibly talented dancers and had them choreographed to make some incredibly beautiful pictures.  So why not invite more people into that world, just to play and see what develops?  The photographers would have a chance to explore dance photography, the dancers would get some shots they may be able to use for self-promotion, and I'd get to meet some new talent.  Winning all around.  Travis Kelley ended up taking me up on that offer, and as a result I can't praise www.traviskelleyphotography.com enough.  He does stunning work and I'm so lucky that he came to document our rehearsal.  Here's some moments that he captured at our working dress rehearsal.

Class "Fascinating Rhythm"-I threw a party and nobody came

So I've started being proactive about pickup class. After my first class (Band of Gypsies-Snuff that Girl) got some great facebook feedback, I had a second. And I got 4 students. From one person to four! Awesome growth. And I taught. And the warm up was fierce. And the combo was fun/sweaty and a bit too much. I was throwing so much choreo out that my friends had trouble keeping up. So I wanted to refine. People had a blast but I wanted to give them the chance to really get a handle on the combo.

I built this routine so that we could talk storytelling and detail. I rented space. I sent out emails. I showed up. No one. Zip. And I was frustrated. The whole point of me teaching was to take ownership of my career and get my work out there. I had a gorgeous studio and no one to work with. So I gave myself class. I went through my entire warmup and stretched out, then I got my camcorder out and taped myself doing the combo. But I was frustrated. And a little over it. And it shows.

Now I know I need to publicize better. I need to make SURE someone is there. But at least I have this combo on tape for a future class. It'll be fun to pull out of my back pocket when I need it. Tricky timing. There are a couple things half-assed in the vid. Some moves are supposed to travel and they're stationary. Legs on kicks should be higher/straighter. The turns at the end are ideally doubles. Whatev, I made something today. It's not perfect, but at least it exists. Today was a rough day but it's still a step in the right direction.

*******UPDATE********

Disregard the last 4 counts of 8. They've been made better.

Ghosting Trial #2-FAIL

First self-aknowledged FAIL. So I had a rehearsal with Tiff today and when we finished early, I wanted to play around and get a little footage to mess with. The plan was to riff on a whole Cupid/Psyche story, but because of the camera angle and mirror it doesn't read at all. So that part of the footage was a big old fail. I still wanted to play with the ghosting concept and have a few successes with this one though. #1-interaction between a solid body and a fading person is possible. #2-layering the crossfades to get multiple afterimages instead of just one. Fun stuff to explore w/ that. And #3-I made Tiff fly across the room! Pretty nifty possibilities to keep exploring!

Ghosting Trial #1

This is the first post in a series where I'll play around with the idea of 'ghosting.' Afterimages, disappearances, floating, divergences. The goal is to start out with simple studies and to eventually work towards fully choreographed phrases using the editing effect to heighten the message. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it from getting gimmicky and cliche. We'll see. I look forward to the challenge!