a brief solo (3.5 mins). i would ecourage you to watch the video before reading the explanation.
the music is «first brain» by kaki king, with dan brantigan on the trumpet. the footage is from my isight with overlaid audio (the inbuilt mic is not great quality).
i don't normally work with this type of improvisation score (in terms of content / form). it took a few iterations to make the mental/physical switch and 'interpret' rather than 'follow'.
with improvisation stimuli, it is important not slavishly replicate the instructions. a score gives direction and focus, but remains open. it leads you, but is not confining.
All improvisations are about 'something'. Often the 'something' is hidden because we don't take enough time to look for it. I teach improvisation for performance (rather than devising), so my students learn to look for and shape 'somethings'.
We don't have the time to make full works, so 'rapid prototyping' is an effective alternative. The target duration is 8 to 10 minutes, this gives you time to settle in. I find that shorter durations leave you feeling 'cheated' as the 'something' does not have time to emerge.
The rapid prototyping process is simple; perform, review, re-do. We let the dancing do the teaching, observing what does not seem to work, what we liked, and areas to develop.
I find it useful to change the parameters of the first few iterations. This allows you to focus on developing what makes a work 'watchable'. the video at the end of this post is the third of three iterations:
No contact
Close proximity
Performative
In my experience, 10 to 20 iterations will get you to the start of a 'performable' (short) work. With pacing, focus and stamina you can do this over a two day course.
As you will see, this iteration is a long way from being performable. But it is somewhere to work from. I find that iterations tend to oscillate around the point you are aiming for. Finding a balance between the 'understood' and the 'emergent' can be tricky.
There are some clear issues with this footage. Next time i will remember the tripod. Hopefully, despite the 'distractions' you will see why i posted this footage (9.5 mins).
Patrick is one of my acting students. The theatrical context within this iteration did not occur in the first two runs. There is also a lot of 'dampening'. I think this style of work is polarizing for some people, it is not the flowing abstraction they assume (contact) improvisation to be.
Most (online) dance improvisation videos lack context, this makes is hard to see why 'practice' is important. Many of the videos are edited excerpts, these can also be misleading. But improvisation can be hard to watch, highlights make it easier to view.
As a raw 'sketch in progress' i hope these 9.5 mins give you some insight into where and how improvisations can be developed whilst remaining 'improvised'. Doug was asking for longer videos recently. and whilst this is not polished work, i think we also need to see more process.
Last note ... did you see the masking tape on the floor? It defines a 'proximal square'. One purpose for this square is establish the natural incidence of contact within the performance volume. every fourth iteration the size of the square is increased until the 'natural' volume is found.
