Thursday, 19th June 2008

It feels that Homing/In has grown in amplitude, and spherically (if that's possible) this week: in depth, clarity and complexity. This is in large part thanks to all the collaborators and their very generous contributions - in artistic commitment, in discussions and in personal presence. The piece certainly would be a different event without them, or with another team.

So, what do we have? Lots of questions have come up along the way to stimulate and stretch my imagination. My thoughts have bounced around as I home in on Homing/In... Here are random notes from the past three days.

My main focus (after making the movement, seeing what Kally could do with harness and silks and what Steinvor could do in the silks, discussing music/dance relationship with Dmytro and with the dancers) has been the projections - which also means figuring out how the mini-cams, receivers and switcher work. Some major frustrations along the way: sometimes the cameras/receivers haven't worked at all - and it wasn't until today, when Kally observed that they've been fine in the morning but not in the afternoon, and after I had asked that we all turn off our mobile/cell phones, that we thought of the WiFi system in Dance Base... and that perhaps a wireless computer connection could be disrupting one of the receivers. A quick visit to the first (American second) floor and the Green Room... there was Lina, on her laptop... she graciously turned it off, and we were fine again upstairs! Request to Dance Base friends, audience and colleagues: kindly disable all wireless electronic devices between 3:45 and 4:30 tomorrow!

But that was the least of my worries, with respect to the projections. My real questions to myself have been: what goes with what? and why? what is the function of the projections in this piece? Before figuring that out, I asked Steinvor and Kally to do a bit of "homework" and answer these questions: Who are you (in Homing/In)? What is/are your intention(s) throughout? (i.e., why does Steinvor hand Kally the clasp for the harness, and why does Kally accept in and then go up in the air?... aside from me saying that's what I would like them to do) This task proved very fruitful and exciting, since they both expressed almost the same thoughts, but in different language. Kally talked about the camera, and that she feels she is a witness, seeing and reporting (I am paraphrasing); Steinvor said she feels both connected and detached. From this, we could go deeper into their relationship to the movement, to each other, and to Dmytro and his music. And I could then work with the switcher/projector/screen as a result and representation of the dancers' spatial orientation (i.e., showing their perspectives - whether physical, emotional or psychological): revealing where they are, not necessarily what they DO see, but what they MIGHT see (bizarrely, they might be looking somewhere with their eyes - and seeing - but, because the camera is on the sternum, the audience sees something else on the screen).

So, I switch (ha!) around: from a still image, to each of their cameras, to both cameras on a split screen, to both cameras overlaid, to a geometrical pattern of the data, to showing what the mover's body "sees," or what the non-mover sees, and so on. And figuring out when to put in stills...

Ah, yes: stillness (and silence). That has been a topic for discussion. How much sound and/or movement do we need, can we have, before we - spectators or performers - feel overwhelmed? How much is enough? how much is too much? how much is not enough (and why?)? How do we process what we see/hear/smell/taste/touch/sense?

Silence and stillness punctuate dynamic changes. Qualities of movement and sound become clearer. Here is a list of dynamics and intentions that seem to me to fit Homing/In:

• focus/vision/gaze
• light/strong/sharp/connected
• aggression/hesitance
• caressing/supporting
• stalking/following
• showing/revealing/appropriating

Yes, the cameras and the dancers are witnesses - but, who is interpreting the data, and how, and why? (the spectators, no doubt: that seems pretty obvious! - and they are witnesses, too...)

When Steinvor sits in the silks, what we call "the cocoon" recalls a raindrop, or a teardrop.

Another discussion centered around pedestrian movement: I decided, after we'd worked on the unhooking of the harness equipment, that I did not want that action to be solemn, or ritualistic: rather, show the action as action. Sheila asked me when/how I think a quotidian act becomes interesting in a theatrical setting... I think it has to do with:

• juxtaposition
• timing
• intention/engagement with the action

In other words, if one takes the time to do something, and really invest one's attention to that act, without worrying about it, or trying to gloss over it ("I have to get through this, it's just a transition, leading to something you'll enjoy watching"), any action can become interesting/engaging - in a theatrical context.

Sheila mentioned this column that struck her as relevant, by Roger Cohen: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/opinion/16cohen.html

And, among all this very serious discussion, lots of laughter. Ceci n'est pas un piano (OK, we know that! - and a Magritte reference). Thinking about the possibility of costumes: how ironic/absurdist could we get (do we want to? no, I don't think so!) - a sylph (Steinvor) and a nun (Kally); other references to 1960s/1970s television: The Avengers, with two Mrs. Peels and one Mr. Steed (who also might be a Magritte painting), I-Spy, Mission Impossible (music)... and so on. Black-on-black (that's what we're using now). I have no imagination for how they might be dressed. Other clothing would definitely add to Homing/In... not sure, yet, about that statement!

So... showing tomorrow at 4:00 pm!
And Saturday is the longest day... midsummer madness?