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Saturday, January 12, 2008

After Week 1


I've woken up to a beautiful Austin day after my first week of working with the dancers. They've been wonderful, this company laughs so much and works so hard - what a wonderful combination. The dancers are a diverse group, each one has something so different to offer, their diversity make a rich palette to create from. Gina's gorgeous emotional interpretation of movement, Michelle's enthusiasm and energy, the bizarre and beautiful tangle of exceptionally long limbs that is Rebecca and Chris, the balance of strength and delicacy in Ashley, the men all strong, exceptional partners who are willing to try whatever bizarre things I may ask of them. I feel like a sculptor, slowly taking away the emptiness to reveal the ballet, which is waiting to be born.
Posted by at 10:34 AM

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About the ballet:

This piece, The Danger of Speaking, is a departure for me. The music is in two parts, first Scott Johnson's string quartet recorded by Kronos, "The Cold War Suite." Such difficult music!!! I have the score, I can read the music, by it is still so difficult to count and catch all the rhythmical changes. So much time in rehearsal is used just making sure we are all hearing the same things in the music. This quartet is written around sampled text from interviews with I.F. Stone regarding the the birth of the CIA, immigration, the US policies in Central America and the industrial military complex. As a choreographer I am often criticized for my work being too abstract, now I run the risk, with the text, of being too literal. It's a balancing act. Part two is "Colophon", music from Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky. After the dissonance of the strings this has an airy, expansive feel. Primarily a pas de deux for Gina and Jim, it serves as reminder that human experience is universal. That no matter what country, race, creed, or bank account we have, the emotions are our common denominators. While Part 1 of "The Danger of Speaking" brings up questions, Part 2 offers no answers. Instead it illustrates our struggles with the questions.

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