As a collaborative art,
dance requires the cooperation of creative minds to achieve a research
goal. I value close dancer/choreographer collaboration in creative research and the contribution that each artist brings
to a research project. I engage dancers in every aspect of its development, from concept, through process, to
dissemination in performance. We learn
together, inform each other, and carry our experiences forward to benefit the
discipline.
My creative practice is grounded
in theory and propelled by experimentation. It is as much an intellectual
investigation as it is a somatic inquiry.
‘Practice as research and dance experiments’ is a philosophy that guides
my work. In 2006, I began using the acronym of this philosophy, PARADE,
to give a name to the body of work it represents. I am committed to
engaging the community in an active dialogue that investigates performance
theory and practice at the intersection of choreography and somatics.
My creative research
investigates the relationship between choreography and
improvisation. I examine improvisation as a method for maintaining
excitement within the constructs of the choreographic structure, by providing
opportunities for spontaneous choices by the dancers. Conversely, in
rehearsal improvisation is often used as a tool to cultivate
choreography. Spanning the range of dynamics between them, this interplay
embraces the artistic impulse and negotiates between spontaneous discovery and a
set course.
My research examines
the collaborative process in dance making. As each performer brings
unique skills to the creative process, explorations are defined by the
participants involved. Using structured improvisations, dancer creativity
is sparked to find creative responses to kinetic problems, and their
solutions influence the look of the dance. Through this cycle of
exploration and direction, movement phrases are culled, eventually defining the
vocabulary for the choreography, and the dance structure begins.
Performance cognition
is an area of specific focus in my research as an integral facet of solo,
partner, and ensemble work in performance. I am interested in the
application of somatic education to develop a greater embodiment in performance
practice, to promote cognitive awareness and authentic responsiveness. Using sensory directive and task driven
improvisations for experiential learning, dancers
cultivate heightened sensitivity, energy projection, and spatial
awareness. Through this investigation, performers develop the ability to
recognize their presence wholly, cognitively, physically, spatially, and
aesthetically, to find and project their somatic embodiment.
I am particularly
interested in the nature of liveness in performance. This has led me to investigations of the
relationship between performer and audience, performative intent and everyday
actions, and the expectations assigned to place. By engaging in opportunities that highlight
the flexible nature of these constructs, through site specific improvisation, I
raise audience awareness of the integral role it plays in performance,
and engage in the fluid relationship between art and life.
Technology furthers these
explorations in exciting ways to create new experiences. I have used small wireless electronics onstage
in performance; worn a live microphone with amplifier to blend voice and
feedback as a tense soundscape in Bob; held LED candles for a shifting
dreamlike environment in Some Will Bring Flowers. I have used hardwired equipment to project
images onto a perforated scrim downstage that created a virtual 3D environment
in Landscape. I have used digital video
editing to create dance films. I am eager to undertake long distance
collaborations that are facilitated with present technology, live video feeds,
and new media.
I place my work within the
socio-political framework of contemporary dance. My research investigates the empirical study
of performance, with context, meaning, and representation considered. With
place providing the context for understanding, I create dances for human and
natural environments, site, stage and screen, and juxtapose contradictions to
stretch expected perception. With the
nonverbal communication of dance predating language, I examine the complexity
of its inherent meaning, often using humor to frame the eccentric nature of the
dance vocabulary. This is complemented
by comparative studies of the aesthetic and the everyday, the represented and
the real, its implication and consequence.
I am fascinated by the many
functions that performance plays in our contemporary society. Performance is an expression of our
intangible cultural heritage that transmits information broadly, engaging the
community in a dialogue of shared human experience. Performance is a metaphor for
empowerment. It is a catalyst for
change. It is fleeting and immediate,
visceral and intelligent, emotional and cathartic. I value the capacity of performance to serve
as a conduit for ideas, a vehicle for cultural exchange, and am eager to
continue this dialogue.