Recovery

research and development blog for performance project with Nat Cursio and Shannon Bott 
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hard labour

We moved and conversed around the idea of committing to some 'hard labour' in a 'pre-show' situation.

I suggested that it need not be skipping (or sporty at all) but that perhaps it is an action based task such as digging a hole.

-digging a hole / lifting and stacking/ pushing something large/ pouring large amounts of water from one bucket to another-

All these things come with baggage ofcourse - loaded with meaning / metaphor.
So Shannon suggested we create a danced sequence that is repeatable, that works as a duo [not in unison] but fits together like a jigsaw.
So we made some dance and we attempted (without a director) to craft our separately made phrases together. I felt that as a structure / pattern it had potential - but the vocabularly didn't make sense. So I suggested we use the structure we have but shift the vocabulary into a more grounded, effortful, dig-a-hole-without-miming style of movement. 

At the end of the day we got to a place that could definitely be investigated further. These are some screen shots from the video. [ignore the exclamation marks... just my i-photo telling me they may not be good enough for print... i kind of like them though]



   
Click here to download:
hard_labour.zip (1247 KB)

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Comments (2)

Aug 19, 2009
Simon Ellis said...
Well - I suspect dancing/physical action comes with baggage as well ... perhaps it's just a little more ambiguous. God knows.

The images look great, and I am really into this as something going on pre-show. Options include just mic'ing it so audience is 'aurally privy' to your work. Also, what would it be like to have you doing it up against a transparent wall that is separating you. Like a bee buzzing into a window. I'd be curious about how you might 'scar' such a window as well ... how you leave your mark.

There is something quite fascinating about the distance I have here ... I 'owe' less to what has been going on (or am less responsible)?

ske

Aug 19, 2009
Simon Ellis said...
any chance of uploading a bit of video?

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