“We realised that simplicity would prove key to providing a way in for the viewer so that later development in the piece could be read clearly.”
It is currently week eight of the ’Two Quartets’ creation period. Sue (Siobhan) has been running two processes simultaneously, with the split company researching movement worlds that are galaxies apart.
The primary questions Sue brought to the quartet she is choreographing with Laurent, Sasha, Tammy and myself was ’How can we give value to movement?... By limiting our initial palate to walking and running, can we create a context whereby, carefully selecting when we introduce movement, it is surprising or has more value?’
Initially, dozens of intricate weaving walking patterns were generated and strung together like directional tongue-twisters before being discarded, not for lack of interest but for the fact that they either did not demonstrate the initial idea or clouded it somehow, ’too much of a leap into familiar dance territory!’ It became clear to each of us that we were struggling to keep simple (there’s a life lesson!) We realised that simplicity would prove key to providing a way in for the viewer so that later development in the piece could be read clearly.
Sue also dropped in a Martin Amis quote along the lines of ’the reason I enjoy writing is because it is not a display of talent like many other art forms’. The idea of our quartet not necessarily demonstrating our primary skills as dancers and was another point of interest for Sue. Such a straightforward concept, however one that I am personally finding incredibly hard to keep to. And sometimes feels like most things I’ve learnt before this process are un-useful.
The urge to create self-satisfying phrases of ’dancey’ movement is large for me it appears! Movement generation starting points that feel more familiar such as weight play or expressive gestures are not tools to play with at this stage. I am therefore nudged out of my comfort zone, which is always good!
So the next stage has seen us extending our language towards simple, essential actions that have a memorable quality and then ways of crossing the space that suggest different terrains or textured environments- motions that disrupt the bodies even walking rhythm.
In the two months since joining the company, I have been most struck by Sue’s rigour. Requiring each decision to be thoroughly questioned and each event to earn its place in the work. The challenge for me as a dance maker is to return to the playful, creative side of the brain, my tendency now being to quickly slip into evaluation and judgement, which is limiting.
Sue, in directing
the course of this creation, insists that each of our structural
suggestions are tried out in the space, however tangential. All five
minds, tastes and bodies constantly edging down avenues, responding,
counter responding and researching new ways to move forward
(literally). Of course every point made is subjective but there is
sense of finding some common ground.
Encouraging each of us to
become a true collaborator in the studio, involved in shaping the
future of our quartet is a generous trait in a director and, it must be
said, made possible by the creation period being a decent length.
To be continued....(Simply, engaging the creative side of brain and keeping well out of comfort zone!)
