Pina Bausch

Read/skimmed through Pina Bausch and the Wuppertal Dance Theater: The Aesthetics of Repetition and Transformation by Ciane Fernandes this afternoon. Pretty academic but there are some interesting theories/interpretations, and the descriptions of Pina's dances are fascinating. Reading even a dry, precise description, I can clearly imagine the intensity of the performance. Some of the set-ups are so fruitful and dramatic. For instance, two male-female couples: One couple - the man tries to touch and dance with the woman and the woman wants to dance by herself, the other - the roles are reversed. To me, just that situation has so much spark to it.

Instructing couples to describe how they laugh while dancing together...

"But you must remain perfectly serious. I want to hear not how you laugh but how you laughed, how you used to laugh in the past. There is not very much to laugh nowadays... You don't have to tell us the reason, only how."

-Pina Bausch (pg 28)

Pina Bausch asks her dancers to describe how they cry...

"When I cry, I feel it in my throat; it gets big, and my breath sticks there. Later my head gets big, and if I try to speak, my voice is lower than usual. If someone is there, I try to laugh a bit. And when I see people I try to keep my face quite still and my throat too. Everything is closed, and the tears come down."

- Nazareth Panadero (pg 27)

"What I do - watch....Perhaps that's it. The only thing I did all the time was watching people. I have only seen human relations or I have tried to see them and talk about them. That's what I am interested in. I don't know anything more important."

- Pina Bausch (pg 50)

Isamu Noguchi

Going through the UH library's dance section, I found this striking image in Designing For the Dancer by Roy Strong et al.

Tallchief and Magallanes in Orpheus. Design by Isamu Noguchi.

Photo by George Platt Lynes.

Beautiful image. Doesn't show Noguchi's sculpture though, and I'll have to look for a video of the dance to see what these props are.

Noguchi had a long-standing collaboration with Martha Graham, and also made sets for several other dance stars including George Balanchine and Merce Cunningham. This information got me interested so I did a little research. Next to read - Spaces of the Mind: Isamu Noguchi's Dance Designs by Robert Tracy. For now, a quote.

There is joy in seeing sculpture come to life on the stage in its own world of timeless time. Then the air becomes charged with meaning and emotion, and form plays its integral part in the re-enactment of a ritual. Theater is a ceremonial; the performance is a rite. Sculpture in daily life should or could be like this. In the meantime, the theater gives me its poetic, exalted equivalent.

- Isamu Noguchi (quote found here)

Late Night Open Mic

Last night I danced at an open mic in China Town, a tiny place you'd only know of by word of mouth. Mercedes Johnson had choreographed a duet for us to dance together (think full-body skeleton costume and makeup, to Zoe Keating) and last night was a preview for the big circus-themed show that will be this First Friday. The costumes still haven't been made yet, but I'm really looking forward to them. Last night was great because we were performing for strangers and we were well-recieved - I don't think I've ever performed without some family or friends watching before. Also we went on at 12:30 am! A bit surreal, doing that and then going to class this morning.

5, 6, 7, 8... Notes to Self

Tonight was a really great rehearsal! I was directing Malia, Lexi, Lauren and Kalei through some new choreography for 'A Single Drop, The Oceans Swell' (my piece for UH Manoa's Fall Footholds) and I think something that really helped was using the old "5, 6, 7, 8" prep. So simple! I've sometimes refrained from using it because it makes me feel like a drill coach. But nothing says "start ... now" more efficiently! Four seconds to get your act together: it's helpful.

Other things I think help:

- Running as part of warm-up: gets your heart pumping

- Running in relation to space and each other ("rebound off of walls and people's personal bubbles"): makes you aware of the group in space, encourages interpersonal connection

- Admitting when I don't have an answer to a question ("that's a good question, I'll keep it in mind and get back to you")

They Get You Young

I was just thinking about how I used to have a placemat with all the ballet positions on it when I was little. I'd study it while eating cereal. Googled it and low and behold, here it is!

Like it's straight out of my memory.

Planet B-Boy

On Netflix streaming, Planet B-Boy. A look into a world-wide breakdance competition. I especially enjoyed the battles between teams - the conversation that takes place between two teams is aggressive but also very musical and responsive.

This was a popular team move....

Some of it looked a lot like Modern dance.

And the hard work certainly makes an impression....

Contact Improv, Surprise Exhaustion

Today we did contact improv in modern class. I didn't notice it in the moment, but it was exhausting! I had ballet right afterwards, and my legs were completely shaky all through barre. My mind was also in a totally different place and it was difficult to focus on the combinations at first. Maybe it was because I hadn't done full-on contact improv for a while, maybe I was gripping my muscles too much instead of relaxing like you're supposed to, anyway it was an interesting surprise.

Misty Copeland

I enjoyed seeing Misty Copeland's episode of "A Day in the Life"on Hulu the other day. I love seeing dancers hard at work, and the rigor of ballet and the dedication it demands can be truly inspiring.

And then I watched her performance with Prince...

Why does she have to play the submissive pretty thing? Ballerinas are power houses and from A Day In the Life it's clear this woman has some real creative depth. Here, she's obviously encumbered by that skirt and I suppose her contract with the uber-popstar. So frustrating to watch. I know I put this up, but go watch the tv show instead.

David Smith's Photos of Lean On Me, Summer 2011

I am so amazed at the way David captures these moments as if they were living Renaissance paintings.

Honest Bodies

Today I saw the UH student production of Bug, and I learned something interesting about the way I perceive bodies. For me, the play was lacking - the acting was too self conscious and I found the characters' physical crutches especially frustrating. Then there was the scene where both actors were completely naked - suddenly the acting seemed to improve. They seemed more earnest and I felt more sympathetic with their stories... until I realized the acting hadn't actually changed at all.

I see nude bodies as more honest.

Sisterly Dancing

Elizabeth Ann Bowie is a staff writer for The Liberator, the award winning newspaper for LASA, which is where I went to high school and where my sister Willa goes now. She interviewed me about making and performing Lean On Me with Willa, who originally had the idea to make a dance performance for charity. It was a nice opportunity for some reflection...

EB: How did you feel performing in general?

AB: The chance to perform as a dancer and choreographer is always thrilling. You have the audience's attention and you have to keep it, taking them into your world and telling them exactly what you want with a totally different type of specificity from words.

EB: And when working with your sister?

AB: This year Willa and I performed a duet together and that was pretty cool. It was a sort of "evil twins" dance and it was fun to play with the characters. The competitiveness and scheming were fun to play up as sisters, and afterwards I got a lot of comments about how similarly we dance, which is a total compliment for me because Willa has so much more ballet training. Choreographing with Willa can sometimes be difficult because of my personal need to impress my little sister. It can be weird telling your sibling what to do. At the same time I always want to work with her because she is an amazing dancer and I admire her so much.

EB: How did it feel to know you were going to donate the money to Doctors Without Borders, and help someone? And why do you think it is important for students to volunteer or participate in fundraisers?

AB: Giving is important. We need to feel that connection to the world, knowing that we can make a difference. It's a totally different experience putting on your own charity, and I think everyone should try their hand at it because it really is rewarding.

Giving Thanks

Made these Thank You cards at the end of the summer, all collage and sharpie over printed cards of my talented grandmother's watercolors. They are all beautiful paintings on their own, but it was definitely fun to transform them into a pop art-ish series.