Patchwork

Patchwork

This work is processual in nature, where the making of the art feeds the methods in crafting the choreography and, through the making, inspires a site-specific location to capture the performative nature of the work on a film.  The painting, Patchwork, reminded me of the many experiences from nature and nurture that influence us and create markings on our Being.  The impetus in choosing this site was devised with the dancers as we discussed how the pulse of humanity influences the decisions we make in our lives and that we become an extension of threads that design the fabric within our environment.    

Humanity influences the decisions we make in our lives, as the painting influences the choreography.  How we reflect, react, and respond resonates with us and reverberates through us.  The idea of filming just two dancers in the streets versus a group allowed the dancers to perform in a space where they faded in with natural elements within society and stood out for brief moments at a time to those passing by.  Had this been a big group of dancers, it would have looked like a show we were putting on in the streets. 

  In addition, the dance, the act of making and movement during filming, adds a layer to the dance where it shifts from a space where these dancers are typically on a stage with an audience sitting and watching them perform to spectators in the streets, with no intention of watching a performance.  This produces a new level of awareness for those both performing and watching.  I found it interesting how people continued their daily business and did not stop to watch.  For filming purposes, this was just what I wanted.  I only had to tell everyone except for one group to continue as they were (because they were waving at the camera).

The film editing explored an extension of choreographic possibilities and the aesthetic composition between materiality emerging through modes of articulation.  The bridge connecting the painting to the investigation of Score reading and improvisational tasks led to the development of movement and the discussion of diffracting mediums from human and non-human participants.  The merging of materials in motion shared a dialogue that would not have been spoken without the other, yet often communicated in silence, speechless until diction is called upon to deliver the manifestation of intention.

September 2021