Tuesday, March 25, 2008
link to Joseph's Annuciation
To the right you will find various links. The link to the text "Joseph's Annunciation" by David H. Alpert is in that list.
Joseph's Annunciation
First to note: today is the Feast of the Annunciation. I brought muffins. The Snack of the Annunciation.
At rehearsal today: Celeste, Chip, Dana, Sharon
When I began playing with these Annunciation ideas a few years ago - Susan Taylor, a choreographer in Tampa who I have known for a long time, and who does real interesting work around mythologies and archetypes and stories, sent me "Joseph's Annunciation" by David H. Albert. In a book, I think called "The Healing Heart". (need to research that)
We began with Dana catching us up on her recent thoughts on Mary, and family - especially in light with stuff going on in her family. A piece of which was to say "No, I'm not coming home for Easter." She did a very interesting gesture of where her heart got taken. We catalogued that gesture.
Chip and Sharon were interested in Mary's family lineage. Where did she come from? Where did Joseph come from? How did they meet? Which segued nicely into the "Joseph's Annunciation" text I wanted to explore.
For the improvisation - I suggested that we take turns reading, and that the others explore the text in movement as it was being read. Chip was encouraged to move in with the dancers, rather than be on the sideline.
The piece begins "He loved her, deeply he loved her, but he didn't believe it. Not a word of it. And he was quite certain she didn't either." I videoed the improv. We can reference as needed. One visual I really liked - Sharon sitting cross legged reading, Chip sat down cross legged facing her, playing the violin in and out of her vocal choices with the reading
Sharon had to leave for a performance. Dana and I worked on the movement phrases from my solo. I wanted to see what would happen if she learned the phrases and then exploded them with a physicality that used more space and gross movement. She learned the material through the wrist rubbing section. She began choreographing a variation, but then we moved into another improvisation.
Chip, again encouraged to be in the action. Dana's task to continue to explore a different physicality for the movement. My task to stick to the more gestural, space confined phrases and loop the movement. What evolved was my continuing the movement phrases, Dana riffing off them, and then an intersection with the language of the basic phrases into a communication between two bodies and violin and violin player.
Highlight moments:
where the "words" where. Where they were found, what happened when they were ingested. Opening a tightly closed "no" jaw, and trying to put the words in. Trying to do it with love, not force.
Observation: Chip observed that he would like to play much more with the intersection of his body, and the body of his instrument (the bow in particular) into the movement motifs.
At rehearsal today: Celeste, Chip, Dana, Sharon
When I began playing with these Annunciation ideas a few years ago - Susan Taylor, a choreographer in Tampa who I have known for a long time, and who does real interesting work around mythologies and archetypes and stories, sent me "Joseph's Annunciation" by David H. Albert. In a book, I think called "The Healing Heart". (need to research that)
We began with Dana catching us up on her recent thoughts on Mary, and family - especially in light with stuff going on in her family. A piece of which was to say "No, I'm not coming home for Easter." She did a very interesting gesture of where her heart got taken. We catalogued that gesture.
Chip and Sharon were interested in Mary's family lineage. Where did she come from? Where did Joseph come from? How did they meet? Which segued nicely into the "Joseph's Annunciation" text I wanted to explore.
For the improvisation - I suggested that we take turns reading, and that the others explore the text in movement as it was being read. Chip was encouraged to move in with the dancers, rather than be on the sideline.
The piece begins "He loved her, deeply he loved her, but he didn't believe it. Not a word of it. And he was quite certain she didn't either." I videoed the improv. We can reference as needed. One visual I really liked - Sharon sitting cross legged reading, Chip sat down cross legged facing her, playing the violin in and out of her vocal choices with the reading
Sharon had to leave for a performance. Dana and I worked on the movement phrases from my solo. I wanted to see what would happen if she learned the phrases and then exploded them with a physicality that used more space and gross movement. She learned the material through the wrist rubbing section. She began choreographing a variation, but then we moved into another improvisation.
Chip, again encouraged to be in the action. Dana's task to continue to explore a different physicality for the movement. My task to stick to the more gestural, space confined phrases and loop the movement. What evolved was my continuing the movement phrases, Dana riffing off them, and then an intersection with the language of the basic phrases into a communication between two bodies and violin and violin player.
Highlight moments:
where the "words" where. Where they were found, what happened when they were ingested. Opening a tightly closed "no" jaw, and trying to put the words in. Trying to do it with love, not force.
Observation: Chip observed that he would like to play much more with the intersection of his body, and the body of his instrument (the bow in particular) into the movement motifs.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
rehearsal process videos
The link to go to rehearsal process videos is to the right. I will keep it updated as much as I can.
mary revisited
loved being with the group today. the ease of responding,resonating,witnessing, and encouraging was satisfying. at the beginning of the rehearsal i was drawn to the shroud stretched across the back wall, the wonder of time, and how I felt so alone in the midst of the big questions being asked by the group.
big moment for me: Team Mary!
big moment for me: Team Mary!
the trinity of voices
when I performed the solo section at Monument Mountain Regional High School a few weeks ago - one of the teachers made the observation about voices. She noted that the angel is "rehearsing" his/her lines. Mary is "spilling an alphabet" and "won't talk about what happened" and she only shakes her head, doesn't sound the word "no". And the other 'character', the Narrator speaks in definitions. A trinity of sorts.... The art teacher at the Atlanta School, completely on another track, sent this video clip to me for a piece called "In My Language" - which gave us food for thought/dance/talk in our rehearsal today. I hope it shows up for everyone. If not, go to Youtube and look up "In My Language" - make sure you watch it all the way through.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnylM1hI2jc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnylM1hI2jc
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Playing Mary
As you know, ceeste, I was once chosen to be the "most Mary-like girl." When the prize was announced or enunciated, there were titters from the girls and something like grunts from the boys. By that point it was a humiliation, another kind of sin
but that story you have. What I re-membered as I read others' stories, was that I often"played Mary," with a blue blanket. I walked around wrapped in it -- wrapped, rapt -- imagining my own goodness -- sort of like inventing sins to confess to have the pleasure of absolution.
Ann
but that story you have. What I re-membered as I read others' stories, was that I often"played Mary," with a blue blanket. I walked around wrapped in it -- wrapped, rapt -- imagining my own goodness -- sort of like inventing sins to confess to have the pleasure of absolution.
Ann
Thursday, March 13, 2008
process
tuesday nicole, dana, sharon and I met. Chip showed up, violin in hand. I showed them the solo part that I have been working on. And invited everyone to take movement ideas or motifs that stuck with them, and create short phrases from that. We also played with the sounds/movement feel of "ahhh" versus "e". As in "annunciation' and "enunciation". To get started we improvised, Chip on violin, to the ahh/eee sounds and other images, ideas that were interesting to us. After the improvisation, everyone built phrases. From those phrases I began to construct a section of movement that could possibly be the wash to follow the solo. I talked to Chip about commentary - that I am thinking about how the solo could include the musical dialogue between voice/movement/violin and also his (perhaps) moments of spoken commentary.
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