June 27, 2007

Make a Dance on Me? -- Not a Chance

The first time I heard the expression "to make a dance on me" - as in George Balanchine made a dance on me, if you're Suzanne Farrell speaking - I cringed.

The sense of passivity I feel in this phrase is overwhelming. Why would I want a choreographer to make a dance on me? Are they going to force me to wear it like prison fatigues? I recall two references one in Suzanne Farrell's "Holding on to the Air: An Autobiography" and the other in the DVD "Paul Taylor: Dancemaker." In the Paul Taylor video, one of his dancers talks, I think, about the privilege of having Taylor make a dance on himself.

(BTW, I saw Paul Taylor last night at Wolf Trap last night -- more about that in the next few days).

I realize that many dancers have no problem with the phrase that annoys me and are more than happy to work with choreographers in the traditional manner and be instructed in how to execute a specific piece of choreography. But this approach is the antithesis of the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange methodology of creating dances that I'm learning this week in their Generating and Crafting Dances program.

In the first two days of this institute, we've learned and experimented with a huge number of tools from their Toolbox (free registration required) that are used to generate movement. It's a fascinating experience - one that is very new to me. I just never imagined that there are so many ways to attack this issue of how you go about creating new types of movement while working by yourself, with small groups or with the entire program.

Toward the end of yesterday's class, we were in a circle talking about "ownership" -- as in when do we feel that movement is truly our own and represents ourselves in some way. From my perspective, the difference between creating movement for myself and being taught a routine in a dance class is worlds apart. While I enjoy my regular dance classes, there's no substitute for dancing what you create.

If you'd like to share, what is your approach to choreography or as a dancer what is the way you prefer to work with a choreographer?

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