Dance Docs

Jeremy Wade’s show “there is no end to more” recently closed at Japan Society.  Jeremy was kind enough to let me watch the dress rehearsal.  My intention was to have a conversation with him about the work, but we were unable to connect.  Instead I’ll link to a conversation he had with Mary Love Hodges for Movement Research’s Critical Correspondence. 

Jeremy Wade in conversation with Mary Love Hodges

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Nancy G.: Your gmail chat custom message reads, “there are no Sarah Palins in dance.”

Sarah Dahnke: Indeed it does. I lifted that quote from this week’s New Yorker, and it’s from an article about Rahm Emmanuel, who briefly danced at Sarah Lawrence College. The quote went on to talk about how there are not professional dancers who have faked their way to the top, only to get there and be missing quite a bit of knowledge. Those people are weeded out long before because there’s really no way to fake the fact that you can’t dance. I could probably argue on either side of that statement, but any quote that combines the words “Sarah Palin” and “dance” is definitely going to be a favorite.

NG: Yeah, I loved that Rahm was once pursuing dance. Did you know that one of his nicknames is “Rahmbo”?

SD: I didn’t, but I’m also not surprised. He seems like a tough cookie who gets what he wants. The New Yorker also mentioned how he’s very devoted to Judaism, and he attends temple with regularity.The internet taught me last week that Rahm means “thunder” in Hebrew. And Barack means “lightening.” Never have I been so fascinated with the minutiae of politics or the people involved in it. I think many of us are still trying to find ways or excuses to celebrate.

NG: Absolutely. I was completely wrapped up in the recent issue of Newsweek which discusses all of the “behind-the-scenes” of the Obama, McCain and Clinton campaigns. So maybe we should talk about what this change in the American federal government might mean for the arts?

SD: Oh yes, I loved that as well. I never got my hands on a paper edition, but I read most of it on the Internets. I wish I could sit here and say that I feel optimistic about the state of funding for the arts, given the election, but I just can’t. I know Obama is developing plans to turn the economy around as fast as possible, but it’s in deep shit right now.

I read a NYT article today about the types of programs that are being cut in state budgets, and basically nothing is safe, not even education. Until the U.S. is back on its feet, it’s hard for me to believe that there will be any extra grant money for artists or performing venues or cultural organizations. They simply aren’t priorities. The article also mentioned education cuts, and while it didn’t specifically mention the arts, I know for a fact (I work as a teaching artist in public schools) that arts are lowest on the totem pole when it comes to funding. I fear that the national deficit will not only fail to fund professional or emerging artists, but it will also cut programs that nurture and inspire young artists, not to mention failing to allow students to experience all of the fabulous things the arts can do for a young person, such as inspiring creativity, self-expression, confidence, group cooperation, problem solving, etc.I feel pessimistic about this one. Ask me again in 2011.

NG: Atleast the arts made it on to the “Issues” page of their website. It’s an “Additional Issue”. Maybe they’ll get to it in their second term, if there is one.

SD: Yeah, I agree. I was optimistic when the arts were presented as a part of Obama’s platform about a year ago. Then the economy started plummeting, and I had a feeling that would be the last we’d hear about that. I have good feelings about a second term, but I suppose that’s a bit premature. As a side note, I’m currently wearing this shirt. My friend Manuel told me I have to wait until January, but I don’t wanna.

NG: Nice! Nothing like sweet and short message tees. I wear this one a lot.

SD: I like that one, too, although I could never wear it and be honest. I hate crap! I was actually straying away from wearing t-shirts with messages on them over the past few years, but this election has re-inspired me. Now I want all of the propaganda. I also have one of Michelle Obama dressed as a superhero that says “Michelle Rocks!” It was my election night shirt.

NG: Let’s talk about your “This Dance is a Cliche” project. What initially drove you to develop this project?

SD: I actually just wrote an entry on the site about that because even though I’ve been hyping it to everyone I know/have ever met, I think the purpose of the project had been lost with some.

The idea came from me working in the studio alone, trying new movements and being continually frustrated that what I created was something I had already done many times before or was too similar to a thousand other phrases/concepts I’d watched before. The recognition of the cliché paralyzed me, making me unable to create anything at that moment. After having this happen one too many times, the idea for this project came to me. In a way, it’s reverse psychology: embrace the cliché to set it free from your mind. In another way, though, it’s a community project based on simple curiosity about what other people find cliché about dance. I know what I find cliché, as a dancer in New York who works with and watches modern or “postmodern” dance. But people who work with other genres in other parts of the country have completely different ideas. And those who aren’t professional dancers come at it from even another angle.The idea to make it this collaborative, community-based project was also inspired by Miranda July, who I adore. I’ve always admired the way she can inspire complete strangers to create and submit, and she provides such an open, accepting environment for each of her projects of this nature.Learning to Love You More and How Will I Know Her? are two of my favorite concepts on the Internet.

NG: You could just invite other people into the studio. Why use the internet? And how has the purpose been lost with some participants?

SD: I could, but I’d reach a much narrower audience. The Internet is amazing because … wait for it … YOU CAN REACH SO MANY PEOPLE. I’ve received submissions from people I’ve never met, who live in other cities, and that never would have been possible if the invitation was simply extended to people who could make it to a specific studio in New York at a specific time. Plus, I love the Internet. I wanted to incorporate that love into the project. I think with some of my more timid yet creative readers, they wanted to submit but were afraid of being ridiculed. But really, the point is to show that we are all cliché in many ways. Embrace it, celebrate it, then also find ways to move beyond that. That’s the true purpose, and I think it just needed a little extra explaining.

NG: Sounds like you’re at the initial stage of gathering submissions. At what point will you move to the next stage? What are your next steps?

SD: I am, and I’ve been trying to just let it be an organic process. However, I am debuting the piece as a work in progress for presentation through Movement Research’s open performances. (My slot is in February.) In the next few weeks, I’m going to start developing movement with the ideas I currently have for presentation in February. I hope the submissions continue to come in (and I’ll undoubtedly bug a ton of people a few more times for them).

My vision for the final product involves a combination of live performance and multimedia, incorporating the submissions. I’m still developing that idea, though, and I hope the open forum at Movement Research is also a helpful revision tool.

Sarah Dahnke will be showing a draft of “This Dance is a Cliche” on February 18th, 2009, at Movement Research’s Open Performance, located at Dance Theater Workshop (NYC).

Felicia Ballos and Flora Weigmann, Elizabeth Dee Gallery (New York City), August 14, 2007.

“The division between the two sections of Carte Blanche will be marked by an improvisational dance performance by Felicia Ballos and Flora Wiegman. Staged in the midst of demolishing the exhibition format of Part One and constructing the setting for Part Two, the performance takes inspiration from the actions performed by the gallery workers, with each dancer creating her movements in response. ” -from Carte Blanche show description, Elizabeth Dee Gallery website

Click to play

Nancy Garcia: When I walked in at 5:35pm, you were both doing repetitive movement, in sync, then slowly fell out of phase with each other. Was this a theme throughout the whole piece (which lasted from 12p-6p)?

Felicia Ballos: Flora [Weigmann] & I have worked together for many years. Even when the intention is not so crystallized to fall in and out of unison, that often seeps into what we make or end up doing. In the section you saw, that was definitely the idea, but at other times it can become an unintentional result in different manifestations. Texture as unison. Rhythm or spatial direction as unison. When you make duet work with the same person over a long period of time, you can end up morphing into and out of each other and we usually choose to use that.

NG: What were viewers’ reactions throughout the day, if any?

FB: Audience reactions were supportive and laid back in general. Except I feel like I made a guy I work with who’s never seen me dance uncomfortable. He seemed pretty awkward afterwards. Most of the people who dropped by have seen Flora and I dance together. It all felt very… natural. Like this is what we do together, we dance and they watch. This is how we hang out. A couple who has always supported us ran home to email their friends that they had 2 more hours to catch us. Some people just shot the shit with us & their good energy, some friends (each a dancer) took notes and shared with us after, most people commented on liking the work being done in the gallery at the same time. A few friends were on to and commented on the durational aspect being evident in our bodies and movement. They enjoyed seeing the exhaustion.

NG: How did you feel about the ebb and flow of viewers, in and out of the
gallery, throughout the day?

FB: Flora & I were both satisfied with the ebb and flow of the audience. There was always somebody there & often the combinations of people in this intimate and casual space were interesting. Lately I’ve enjoyed setting up a situation without a beginning/middle/end that spans over a length of time and is not in a traditional theater. It sets up a situation that doesn’t include obligation. If viewers want to stay and are able, they stay. If they want to go, its easy to leave. By removing the idea of it being inappropriate to leave, the audience is free to fulfill their own needs for their experience. Some people at our show stayed a couple of hours, others popped in and out. The ebb and flow was great.

NG: While I watched, I was thinking about possible tenets to abide by when watching this type of repetitive movement: a) One must make time to watch. b) One must have patience. c) One must be in it for the long haul. What are your thoughts about “ways of viewing,” in this context? What do you think about the “issue” of, what I’ll call, “audience impatience?” We’ve all been there, but it’s interesting having been on both sides (viewer and performer).

FB: This question is funny for us. We don’t think what we were doing requires the sort of patience you’re referring to. Jumping from one idea and movement to the next is what tries our patience. If our intention was to challenge the audience in that way, we would’ve taken it way way further. Both flora and I enjoy settling into work that takes it time to unfold. I appreciate going into the zone. I am often interested in an atmosphere that allows me to wander when I am an audience member. Werner Herzog’s “Heart of Glass” and “The Enigma of Kasper Hauser” are a couple of my favorite films and would make others go nuts. Those are the people who probably shouldn’t see our work.

NG: Is there room in the culture of NYC for dance to be a presence, not only in art galleries and theaters? I feel like there are many clubs for bands to play in (though many great live music venues have been shut down and bought out such as Tonic), but there aren’t clubs where dance is the main act. Will people ever go to clubs to watch dancers like they go watch bands? And I don’t mean strippers or burlesque, which do have a presence in clubs.

FB: That’s the big question, huh? I think this is possible in due time. Audiences seem shy to immediately embrace dance in a club or other settings that music is usually played in. Fortunately though, I’ve been in experiences, as another audience member and as a dancer, in which the crowd eventually came around. Recently, on tour with Jamm (aka. dancer/choreographer Jean Marie Leary), we fell into a wonderful group of people in Portland who invited us to perform at an after party. We had an amazing response and that led to us ‘headlining’ at another club in Olympia. New Yorkers seem slower to support these ways, but they are happening here and there and are well-received. It’s exciting. Dance in these types of venues is totally possible.

NG: Were you asked to perform during construction, between tear-down of Part 1 of the Summer show, or did you choose that slot?

FB: We chose to perform on the day of gallery construction. It was partly out of convenience of when Flora was able to come to town from L.A. and mostly because we were into the situation. To perform inside of a space that was being transformed by something other than us seemed interesting. It was great that there were two of us dancers and two people building out the space. The possibilities for chance, parallel experiences with the different types of work were intact from the start and did end up happening. By sharing the space, the contrasting physicalities and intentions in the gallery ended up providing certain contexts for each other to be seen. I wonder if you are asking because you’re afraid that we were relegated to the weird day because its dance we’re doing. Sorry for being presumptuous, but if that’s why you asked, I just wanted to dispel those thoughts. The gallery gave us many options when figuring out a date.

NG: Anything else you want to talk about goes HERE—————–

FB: What else do I have to say? Hmmm. I think I’ve said enough. Thanks again.

Felicia Ballos and Flora Weigmann will be premiering a new collaborative film and dance performance with filmmaker Amy Granat, at The Kitchen. Friday, Feb 22nd and Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 (8:00pm both nights).

Additional Info:
http://www.cinemazero.com/
http://www.thekitchen.org/