It’s amazing how my brain has been continuously flooded by thoughts about asserting and defining my approach/mentality/aesthetic in regards to dance when surrounded by so much new information in the past two weeks here at the Bates Dance Festival. Both in casual conversation and rehearsals with students I’ve experienced the need to further give context to my perspective and in doing so I’ve unearthed what I currently hold most important during the conceiving of a new work in a new place. The following is a bulleted list of obsessions/assertions I’ve been compiling…
Temperament in form—(depression/mania/rebellion/anger) influences on sense of time and impulse of movement
Deconstruct and reconstruct components of dance in order to highlight and create appreciation for less visible elements
Simultaneous Minimalist and Extremist physicalities
Divulging the many virtuosic elements of the dance
I’m interested in the statement and perspective in chosen form/how ideas are presented
My aesthetic choices in creating a dance are closely related to punk and hip hop musical aesthetics at their points of origin in that they are a re-evaluation of form–>the end product being a reflection of cultural sensibilities/outlooks/goals
What happens when we break things down to examine their parts equally? Put everything on the surface
An obsession with what is being constructed in a space and an awareness of what is out of our control
An overarching theme of intrinsic value of: moving/dancing/working(psychological/emotional/physical)
How many of these things can be layered into a single moment in time/movement/phrase/event?
The DNA of form
Decomposition composed
Inspiration from forms within subcultural movements that have a clearly identifiable style/image that has been absorbed into mainstream society; attempting to bring function to the surface instead of just image