Yesterday, Kathleen was having us move across the floor practicing inversions. She asked us to dive into a handstand, then bend at the knees bringing the legs into a frog position, before opening back out again. The key to the movement is allowing the spine to create one long line, head to sacrum that is perpendicular to the ground. We have been practicing inversions in her class all week, but this was adding a whole new step to the process. Kathleen was explaining that when we are in a handstand it’s like we lose track of where our legs are in space. We are so used to having them support us from underneath that it’s not until they reconnect with gravity on the way down out of a headstand do we have a clear picture of where they are in space. This resonated so strongly with what I was feeling.

Going upside down in Kathleen Hermesdorf’s modern class.

Which also sounds totally scary! And it is. But it’s also fun. And exhilarating. And challenges you both mentally and physically. And it’s all for that glorious moment when your pelvis shifts perfectly over your shoulders and you feel absolutely stable and free. In a way I feel like that is a true representation of what goes on here at the festival. For three weeks we are flipped on our heads and asked to flail around. Some days we feel like we aren’t getting it, just kicking up and not reaching the top. Yet other days we find that extra oomph and find that perfect moment of floating at the top! It’s important to remind myself that we are all struggling to find that moment each day. But the joy and energy that Kathleen brings to class always has me leaving class feeling like I’m floating on a cloud.

-Posted by Caroline Barna. Caroline is BDF’s Social Media Intern for the 2013 summer.

–Caroline

The Youth Arts Program (YAP) at Bates Dance Festival is a three-week, non-residential day program for students’ ages 5-18 years old.  The students study dance, music, theater and art and have the opportunity to put together and perform in a show at the end with the Professional Training Program at BDF.  This year, the students are exploring the concept of SPACE—inner space, outer space; any kind of space…and their explorations have proven just how creative and insightful young artists can be.

One YAP student shows off her arabesque between classes outside of the Olin Arts Center.

The “YAPsternauts,” as they now call themselves, practice collaboration through creating and playing as an ensemble in many of their classes.  In combination with all of this team building, students learn to identify a sense of self-expressivity and individuality through the creative process.  For example, in theater class, one group of students has been doing character work based on a list of 22 space-like creatures, brilliantly imagined by one student.  Within this character work, these 9-11 year olds have explored the question of what inner space means to their particular character.  One student, Hannah, writes, “Inner space is something that can be very sad and unforgiving.  Like if you did something bad or something bad happened, it would haunt you…your inner space can be gruesome, but the rest of you should live in the moment…I need a time machine.”  Poetic and astute, the words and discoveries expressed by the YAPsternauts have been incredible!

These students not only are discovering themselves as artists, but they are learning how to think through the creative process—a skill that proves useful at all stages of life.  The daily activities at YAP, whether they be regular classes, flash mobs in the dining hall, or site-specific works, foster an innovative sense of mutual learning that is fun, educational and a happy reminder of how much we all can learn from listening to the creative wisdom of children.

Students gather around their instructor at the start of class.

Our musicians come from all around the country, and each bring unique styles, experiences and instruments to the festival. But their ability to collaborate with each other is what the musicians’ concert is all about. The evening is built so that each musician brings one composition or work that the ensemble can join. The first four pieces of the night showed the wide-ranging and unique talents of these music makers. From Peter Jones’ lush piano playing, to the incredible trumpet sounds that come out of Jesse Manno’s mouth, to the joy that Terrence Karn radiates while performing, we get to watch it unfold on stage.

The beautiful Franco-American Heritage Center was our venue for the evening.

The immense respect that these men have for each other was absolutely apparent on stage that night. Nothing made this clearer than watching Rob Flax and Albert Mathias perform separately one after the other and both completely enjoy watching their friend kill it. Rob playing solo on his fiddle and Albert creating booming electronic sounds with his Zendrum was a beautiful juxtaposition.

The energy these musicians bring to the festival is incredible. Having their presence in classes, shows and dance parties is absolutely crucial to the atmosphere of this festival.  The beautiful understanding that they all bring to their art and accompaniment amazes me. We are so truly lucky to have them here. You can read more about these individuals and find there websites by reading their bios on the Bates Dance Festival webpage.

Shamou brought students up on stage to help him lead the audience in singing a few notes!

-Posted by Caroline Barna. Caroline is BDF’s Social Media Intern for the 2013 summer.

During the Show & Tell on Tuesday night, Art and Myrna showed a few clips of their work that illustrate how their use of technology has grown over time. Bridgman|Packer Dance’s relationship to technology and video started in 2000 when they began experimenting with an overhead projector to cast shadows on a red scrim in Carried Away. This lead them to think more about how the 3D body can interact or become a 2D projection. The obvious next step for them was working in video.

Always with wit and humor these two have created a vast number of works that integrate recorded video, live video feed, unique set design and luscious partner dancing. Their unique relationship to video work is born out of their use of physical partnering. Unlike other video work I’ve seen, the projections are treated as another partner in the dance. In Double Expose, recorded video and live video are projected simultaneously onto a mattress, allowing the dancers on stage to appear as if they in the same bed as the projections. The precision of the dancer’s placement in space makes these cleaver “encounters” that much more amusing.

However, Art and Myrna are not just here to perform. They are teaching two classes during their time here: a Modern Repertory class and Performance and Live Video. Tuesday during lunch we were surprised with a performance around the tables of the Commons from their modern repertory class. Music blared through a boom box in the back of the room and dancers appeared barefoot and in sneakers to perform some acrobatic partnering work.

Bridgman and Packer’s modern repertory class surprised us with a performance in the Commons.

You can get your tickets to see Bridgman|Packer Dance’s performances on Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm through the Bates Dance Festival website and learn more about the company through their website.

-Posted by Caroline Barna. Caroline is BDF’s Social Media Intern for the 2013 summer.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Commons!

However, I would argue the best part of the Commons really is the atmosphere the dancers bring to the space. In some ways it is the center of the festival. The Commons is our place to catch up with friends and see how their day is going or find out when rehearsal begins that afternoon. Virtually everyone at the Festival eats their meals at the Commons. So you will inevitably find yourself standing next to Bebe Miller at the salad bar or making your coffee with one of the Varone dancers. I’ve had the opportunity to eat lunch with my instructors, the director and complete strangers.

I’m aware that this is not a new concept, that food brings people together. But it is worth noting. Very rarely do we have the space or time to talk, reflect and even just joke around with our friends and colleagues. And three times a day at that! Commons is not just our place to eat meals but also our place to reflect and connect.

We even dance in the Commons! Bridgman and Packer’s modern repertory class surprised us today with a performance during lunch.

-Posted by Caroline Barna. Caroline is BDF’s Social Media Intern for the 2013 summer.

Koplowitz got his start when a long time friend Elise Bernhardt, director of Dancing in the Streets, asked him to be a part of a large project happening in Grand Central Station. Fenestrations, brought together 36 dancers to inhabit the windows of Grand Central Terminal. The work was an immense success and seen by over 16,000 people during their two evenings of performances. This project was what became a first in a large career of creating dance for architecturally interesting sites.

Stephen Koplowitz leads his class on site-specific dance making in Chase Hall.

Koplowitz has an amazing ability to think on a large scale. It seems as if he is constantly dreaming bigger and bigger. This has served him well over the years producing works that incorporate technology, video and photography. Koplowitz came back to his early roots in photography, to create camera obscura installations that were then integrated into site-specific performance. Last night we saw some of the amazing images his camera obscura project produced. The landscape is turned upside down and the dancers morphed into specters of light and dark.

We also received a lot of keen business advice during the lecture. Able to clearly see the big picture, Koplowitz is constantly urging students to think as a producer would. Budgets, planning, and permissions are a huge part of what he is required to do as an artist. He says that 50% of the work is in the production and planning.

It was awe-inspiring to see the sheer amount of works and ideas he has created since 1988. He has been commissioned by organizations and sites all over the world. To take a look at some of his work you can visit his website or check out his YouTube channel.

-Posted by Caroline Barna. Caroline is BDF’s Social Media Intern for the 2013 summer.

Soon little moments began to build in momentum and virtuosity. Those interested in watching, gathered around the sides of the space to witness the magic. People came in and out of the movement, changing partners, connecting with a new group, exploring an idea on their own. The room built in energy until the whole space was filled with a chaotic jumble of fluid bodies.

What a great celebration of movement during our first week of classes. I can’t think of a better way to get to know people. People who I had seen around the festival at lunch, in class and at events were there. But I now had an opportunity to roll, push or balance on them. I got to know many people better simply through that touch. And how profound that touch feels. Strangers are no longer so foreign, now that I’ve seen them dance and touched their bodies. For that time we were connected not only by cause but by physical touch.

The last 30 minutes were the most exciting to watch and participate in. Freed of inhibitions dancers began to really explore the boundaries. Pushing and pulling each other through the space. Torsos and legs thrown into the air. Whole bodies twirling over shoulders. Intense energy bubbled up in an effort to truly live in the moment before it ended. Sweat dripping we puddled onto the floor in the last few minutes. Finding a last way to connect with a partner to stretch out our tired muscles. The joy and electricity created in that room was hard to leave, but could continue to be seen on the faces of those leaving the gym. Big bright eyes and genuine smiles along with a sheen of sweat covered our faces.

-Posted by Caroline Barna. Caroline is BDF’s Social Media Intern for the 2013 summer.

This informal evening brought dancers Angie Hauser and Darrell Jones along with Ms. Miller herself, to the stage to show an excerpt, along with a few videos and a discussion about the creation of the work. The work itself is a duet between Angie and Darrell that focuses on their 20 year history of dancing together. It holds a detailed improvisational score along with video work featuring all of the collaborators.

Bebe Miller brings two audience members up on stage to help demonstrate a section of the work.

A very cerebral look into the creation of dance, both this piece and the Show & Tell give us a look into what it might look like, sound like or feel like to be in the studio with these creators. Because the work is improvised, the audience had a lot of questions both about the structure and thoughts of the dancers. Bebe explained that because the way the company is structured now, with collaborators living all over the country, they decided that what they most wanted to focus on was a state that had been generated rather than remembering specific steps.

I enjoyed hearing Angie Hauser describe what it is like to be “choreographing in real time.” She explained that the biggest challenge is trying to recreate a feeling or cognitive state she has in the studio where time is of no importance. Translating this to the stage becomes much harder when there are certain landmarks to hit or a time frame to stay within.  But the joy of improvising comes from those little tiny moments of surprises or surprising the person you are working with.

I am even more excited to see how this all plays our on stage. I feel like we got a great taste for the relationship between all these collaborators and the ideas they are wrestling with. You can purchase tickets to this weekend’s show on the BDF website.

-Posted by Caroline Barna. Caroline is BDF’s Social Media Intern for the 2013 summer.

Sunday our Admission Director, Meredith Lyons worked all day with students to help them craft their schedules. Class change day is something unique to BDF that we do each year to ensure that all our students have a well rounded schedule that they will enjoy. Students have a chance to meet directly with Meredith to see what classes still have slots open and discuss what might be a good fit for them. Students will have another chance today and tomorrow to change their schedule now that they have started their classes and experienced the teachers.

All the festival participants and faculty met Sunday evening in Chase Hall for orientation.

While those of us who have been here for the past three weeks are still adjusting to the new energy on campus, we are incredibly excited for all the events, performances and classes coming up. There is a huge shift that happens here over just one weekend, as our young dancers head home and a flood of professional level dancers arrive. This second half of the Festival is even more jam packed with classes, events, performances, dance parties and workshops. Plus the number of participants almost triples in size!

Last night during our orientation we met over 20 of the amazing faculty and musicians. So many wonderful instructors and artists from around the world are here to work, perform and teach. I am looking forward to getting to know each of them in and out of the studio. So wish us luck as we dive into the Professional Training Program!

-Posted by Caroline Barna. Caroline is BDF’s Social Media Intern for the 2013 summer.

That night, during Doug Varone and Dancer’s Show & Tell, Julia Burrer described this same idea of momentum. One of our audience members asked during the Q&A how the dancers are able to dance so strong, grounded and forceful but also maintain a lightness and grace.  She explained that the momentum of the movement is what allows them to move with so much energy. Like a roller coaster there are moments of strength and force to get you to the top, but then there are down slopes, curves and loop-de-loops as well. It’s a rush to be caught in that exhilarating momentum.

All of our Young Dancers on their last day!

I think this a great reflection of our experiences at the young dancers workshop. Remembering the ups, downs, curves and loops of this experience seems like such a blur already. We were really caught in the momentum that is the festival, propelling ourselves from one class or event to the next.

And I hope that this momentum continues. That the ideas, concepts and dreams planted here continue to bloom as our students travel back home. And for those of us still at the festival, I hope that this momentum will advance us into a fruitful few weeks with the Professional Training Program.

-Posted by Caroline Barna. Caroline is BDF’s Social Media Intern for the 2013 summer.