Jerwood Bank 2008 – Siobhan Davies Dance

Jerwood Bank 2008 ran from 20th October to 28th November with six experienced dancers: Lyndsey McConville, Freddie Opoku-Addaie, Joe Moran, Luisa D’Ambrosio, Sarah Dowling and Josephine Dyer. Over the course of the six weeks each of the dancers worked with Siobhan Davies Dancers exploring section from the company work, Two Quartets (2007), focusing on developing a ‘portrait’. By providing time, space and support the project aims to enable participants to challenge ingrained habits and discover new methods of initiating, creating and developing movement material.

This year’s project was led by Siobhan Davies Dancer Deborah Saxon with support from Sarah Warsop, Henry Montes and Gill Clarke, with additional input from Siobhan Davies. Two professionals from other disciplines who had worked with the company previously came in to talk to the participants: Jonathan Cole (a neurophysiologist) and Susan Hitch (a linguist). The speakers provided alternative viewpoints on communication and movement, and therefore additional resources for the participants in their own creative work.

Watch the project as it developed, navigate by weeks or dancer, or view the image and video documentation.

The Jerwood Bank Project was originally created through Siobhan Davies’ interest in the creative development of ‘mid-career’ dance artists looking to shift their practice to a new level. Watch a short introduction to the Jerwood Bank Project from Siobhan Davies.
Duration: 2 minutes.

We started with breath.

They were asked to write a thought about breath (it could be a singular word or a sentence) which could stem from any impetus…. anatomical, emotional, situational ect.They passed this thought on to another person and this new thought became the engine for an exploration (about 20min) all the while keeping a part of themselves alert to moments that spark their curiosity and which could lead to further exploration. They recorded these moments in their own notebooks.

They were then asked to add a new thought on breath to the one they received….it could be a continuation of the previous thought or taking it on a new tangent. This was then passed on to another person in the group and the process was repeated, hopefully continuing to challenge their way of thinking.

We repeated this process three times and then the page was passed back to the original person.

Everyone then went back to their notebooks and chose one of their new thoughts to explore further. They worked on their own, in pairs with one observing and in group improvisations. Slowly more clarity of the thought was experienced and demonstrated and as they continued everyone became more precise about the intention which drove the movement.

Here are the first questions in series that I hope will help my evaluation of the project as well as stimulate discussion. My questions are:

How easy do you find it to talk about your own creative process/other people’s creative processes? Do you think you talk the same language as non-dancers when talking about movement?

Answers please!

I trained initially in theatre and went on to study dance at studios in London, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. I work as an independent dance artist in London making and presenting my own work, teaching, and curating and producing performance, workshops and a dance-in-health programme. At times, I also work in collaboration with other artists and dance for other choreographers. My choreographic and performance work is deeply informed by improvisation and somatic approaches to movement.
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Conduit – the link from the thought to it being embedded in the body. What is moving – the mind and/or the imagination?
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Distinguishing the fluff and that which is particular:

I realise that a new way into asking/answering this question happened for me this afternoon. This being the process we explored of identifying what is necessary in a movement and playing/ working with that. This is different from what I described this morning of being in the fluff and waiting for a shift into, or emergence of, something particular.

I trained at Laban and have been London based ever since. I am currently working with Yael Flexer’s Bedlam Dance Company as a performer and teacher. I have also performed with Kerry Nicholls, Sirens Crosing and Transitions amongst others. My teaching experience has involved working for Laban, London Contemporary Dance School, London Studio Centre, GDA and The Place.

Having worked for eight years as an independent dance artist, creating, performing, teaching, I feel that right now I need to reflect. Reflect on what I do and why I do it.
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I did an Engish Literature and Drama degree and worked in theatre before training in dance. I currently perform – most regularly with Punchdrunk and most recently with Lost Dog. I also make my own work and teach. I come to the Bank project with a desire to follow the very clear and thorough line of movement investigation that the SDDC company have gathered in their many years of working. We will see what the results will be – alot can happen to a person in 6 weeks. Alot has happened in 3 days.
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I studied Modern Languages at Bristol University before training in dance at Northern School of Contemporary Dance (1996-97). I continued my movement training through numerous classes and workshops in the UK and abroad. I have danced for choreographer Caroline Salem, and in my own choreography (A Tin Drum, Viva la Vida, Threefold and dream knit).
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I don’t have time to write much, so a few thoughts:
I noticed on Day 2 that the focus on breath was causing me to prioritise the beginning and end of a movement, perhaps blurring the juicy, important journey between. I managed to break out of this a bit yesterday…
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Being more specific with the thought allowed for further possibilities. This was a surprise for me. My fear was to be short of ideas/images/sensations but actually it was almost the complete opposite.

A small enlightenment on day 2 – long may it continue..

Of course then the origin of the thought had to be re-discovered (breath) and allowed to inform and embody the moving. It was hard to dis-courage and be aware of the extra bits, the fluff that Joe mentioned.

I came  to dance through quite a convoluted route: design was my staring point and then I took a detour through gestural theatre and  set design during which  dance  become my main focus and  stayed as such as my life resettled in London. My work moves between dancing,  teaching , making my own work,  collaborating with other  choreographers and movement directing for theatre. Design had a very strong impact on my work as a dancer – I perceive the body as a tracing and carving tool for the space and the sequencing  of this is what releases  the emotions and colours  of what we want to portray.

  I become interested in the ‘Bank project’ because it is a unique opportunity to  study and learn about a method of composition with the focus on oneself  and the process, rather than the deadline of   a production schedule.I have followed the work of SDDC for many years and the element which i love the most about it is the movement language and how it traces and relates to the space and the sound score.I would like to learn about  the art of making  movement, learning new skills and methods  to support my work as a dancer and maker.I also want to have an opportunity to play  in the  studio and discover what I want to work with and see what inspires my imagination.I am very excited and quite nervous about it and very much looking forward to start.