Group Discussion

15th February
Sita:
Some people have already sent me suggestions for themes for Project 2:
community
desire
transformation (literal not metaphoric)
rhetorical questions
urban legends/ myths
things beyond our(most people's) comprehension
Does anyone have any preferences/comments on these, or any other suggestions?

Kareen:
I look forward to hearing more about your theme. Some suggestions that I have are:
rhetorical questions
urban legends/ myths
things beyond our(most people's) comprehension
Just some thoughts.

16th February
Colleen:
On the themes, what are you looking for??
If you're interested, I'm working on a piece at the moment and the stimulus is Image, mirrors and reflection- I've found those rich in terms of movement material maybe others would too!!
Of the themes listed, I quite like the idea of rhetorical questions- it would be a challenge possibly to create movement  from that but a good challenge...

17th February
Clare:
Would it make sense to combine the themes of mirrors and reflections with transformations? After all distorted mirrors can produce some weird transformations of the forms reflected in them.

18th February
Rodlee:
I like the sound of that.  There is also the aspect about mirrors were you look at yourself and you see your self in a certain way that other people dont.  You have a self image in your own mind which may not be what other people see in you.  There is certainly distortion there.  There are also times where there are transformations in what you see in yourself when looking at the mirror.  For example one day you could look at yourself and think 'God I look horrible' then there are other days when this thought transforms into perhaps 'Wow I look great' for example.

But I do like the idea about urban legends and myths too.  Im not sure at this point but surely this could be included somehow.  It would certainly provide a wider range of ideas to work with.  We dont necessarily need to go into all the myths etc we know.  We could just decide on one and relate this to the idea of mirrors and transformation.  I know its not an urban legend but the I quite like the Dr Jeckyl and Hyde idea.  Alter egos which completely contrast each other.  It a bit of a sketchy idea but I hope it gives us some kind of starting point.

Perhaps we could look at our personalities.  And how we change them.  A psychologiest called Cooley I think it was suggested that our personalities are shaped by the way in which other people behave and respond to us.  This theory is called 'The Looking Glass Self'.  So Cooley was basically saying that we use other people as mirrors to tell us about ourselves.  We develop a knowledge of ourselves through how other people react to us, through using other people as mirrors.  I suppose then that this would continue throughout our lives our view of ourselves transforming alongside the changes in peoples behaviour towards you.

19th February
Kareen:
Regarding theme, I am pleased to hear a more direct tactic being taken on the reflections and transformations idea.  I would be more interested in working with a more concrete and directed focus, such as the Cooley / Looking Glass/ Jeckyle and Hyde scenario than working under a huge umbrella concept where I feel that it can become too easy to sort of hide behind the idea of the idea.  I realize that we are merely forming the concept at this time and a more focused theme begins with a general one.  I merely wanted to comment that I appreciate Rodlee's thoughts.

21st February
Kareen: I've been playing around with some graphics.  Here something inspired by our current running theme. (Click here)

Steven:
I have sent some music to set a mood. (It is actually a humpback whale singing). (Click here)

I think this is a great project and the theme seems to be settling in to something we can all have a whack at. I am very interested in the medecine wheel and shamanism as practiced by indigineous cultures. For many of  them transformation is a necessary part of tribal unity and healing. To enter an altered consciousness and discover an alter ego, a spirit guide usually in the form of an animal, is a critical part of the process. It seems there is a fertile tension between such ancient concepts and the more recent myths that spring from our urbanized culture such as Cooley/Looking Glass/Jeckyle and Hyde in which our animal undercurrents are a source of fear and dread.

There are new myths in the making....perhaps we are creating one together! Is there a ritual in the way we view the postings of others on the project site and then add more of our own? We change as we enter that circle at the center of the far-flung participants...We see what is there. We respond with something of our own. Are we governed by a wish to impress others with our ideas or contributions while maintaining a certain polite etiquette?...OR...Are we more deeply seeking some sense of unity--a virtual tribe if you will---that seeks a ceremony in which all individuals transform in a collective ritual---the creation of a dance?

22nd February
Sita:
Kareen's image and Steven's whale song are on the same page, and I find that the feelings inspired by Kareen's image change quite remarkably when I listen to the whale song at the same time.

It looks like the discussion page will be the central focus of the creative process now, with links off it to other pages for images, movies, etc.  As the information increases in volume I may have to re-think, but we'll start off like that.  Suggestions are always welcome.

I have my first rehearsal with the dancers tomorrow, and we will try and get some initial movement up on the site.  We'll use the discussion so far, Kareen's image and Steven's whale song as starting points for movement.  We'll use any other inspirations that arrive from anyone too.  The dancers and I have rehearsals booked every Wednesday and Friday during the project.

Kareen:
I like it. And I am very interested by Steven's notions of how and why we bring ourselves to this project.  Perhaps a virtual tribe is something that I am looking for, or at the very least, something I wouldn't mind associating myself with.  How interesting to see the image and the whale sound clip together.  I get the impression of a happily lobotomized person - entranced.  Actually, I couldn't stop laughing.  Any "art" that make me laugh is okay by me.

Rodlee:
It's quite surreal watching Kareen and Steven's inspirations fit together.  It's amost like she's looking at herself thinking about herself in the future, will there be any change in her lifestyle be it good or bad, or will it stay as it is with her being content with what she has in her simple life?  Each separate image of her looking at her back kind of represents to me an idea of her looking into the future where she will be thinking the same things e.g. 'will there be any change in my lifestyle be it good or bad?  Or will...'  The picture says even if we are content and relaxed as the whale song suggests the lady is, we still wonder about our future and whether our lifestyles as we know them will change and transform in time or stay the same.

23rd February
Sita:
We had a good rehearsal today - the dancers are very interested in the themes and associated discussion.  We worked to make six short duets.
Click here to get links to the duets and to see more details of how we worked with the theme to make this movement.
Please give us feedback on the material created in rehearsals, and suggestions on how we can make more material or put together the material that we have.  As with any creative process, some material will need to be developed, some will need to be discarded and some more will need to be made.

Steven:
I like the girls duets very much...I think the outside eye helps to give coherence to the phrasing. Now what to bring these duets together?  Instead of a spatial strategy or timing strategy, why not think about an external setpiece element...Mirror, door, threshold(can even just be imagined) through which duets change into other duets...Each individual duet could also play through and around such an external prop. If you are going to use projections, that lends another duplication. But all this mirroring should have a central element.

Fear of change and/or desire for change as represented by an abstract setpiece....something simple like a frame that can be moved easy through and around...just one idea...

24th February
Clare:
(Click here to see the image that goes with this comment.)  I don't know whether this ought to go in Participants details or inspirations.... you decide!  Perhaps it should be titled 'Past, Present and ?Future?'

25th February
More inspirations have been sent in - click here to see them.

Sita:
We are having problems with our ftp server, so we have taken down the movies and the animated gif from Clare.  We hope to get it sorted on Monday, when we have access to the computer again!!  It's rather irritating, but just one of those things...

Sita:
We had a mixed rehearsal today.  We worked with the idea of external setpieces as suggested by Steven.  Three of the girls worked with a real mirror, which
was quite successful.  The other four worked with a gateway made from two chairs.  This was more problematic.  On Monday there will be a page up about
this rehearsal with more details - once we get the ftp server working again!!  It will have two videos of the mirror work, and a short clip of improvised work
with the gateway.

26th February
Sita:
I'm planning what we are working towards on this project.  Because we are aiming for a workshop-type feel, we won't do a big performance with lighting and costume like we did for Project 1, but we might do a sharing of some sort.  I'm considering a sharing/performance via iVisit Internet videoconferencing at the end of the project...what do you think?  I thought we could try and get everyone together at a pre-arranged time, and we can show what we've done and talk about it.  Unfortunately a Webcast would be a little too complicated, as I don't think I can get hold of the equipment.  Also, for those on modem connections it would be very slow.  And most of all, it's one-way, and I would like to be able to have a real sharing rather than a broadcast.  We could also put together a brief CD ROM and send one to each of you, so you could see it more clearly.  But again it's one-way.  Please let me know what you think.

For those of you who are not familiar with iVisit, is it available to download for free at the iVisit site, and is pretty easy to use.  I can put up detailed instructions if we decide to do this.  You don't need to have a camera, as you can still see us, although obviously if you have a camera it's nice if we can see you too.  It doesn't take up a lot of room on the hard disc either.

Clare:
Click here to see the image that Clare sent in with these comments.
It was Rodlee's comments which ended with 'we still wonder about our future and whether our lifestyles as we know them will change and transform in time
or stay the same.'  that prompted this submission.  Nearly everyone taking part in this project is very much younger than me and, although how my life will still change remains a matter enduring interest, it occurred to me that I am at a very different point in that process from Rodlee or most of the rest of you.... and that was the point from which this animation started! I enjoyed doing it!

Steven:
The I-Visit sounds good. I don't have a camera but that's not as important as seeing the dancers and saying something---(though I know the motion is quite choppy...you did quite well dealing with this before---at least one can make real time suggestions)... Since I don't know what else to do to add right now I thought a little levity might be acceptable so thus the attachments (Click here).  Either something is emerging from the mirror to envelop me or I am having rather colorful thoughts...perhaps the music...anyway.  I look forward to new rehearsal materials.

Colleen:
yes- transformation seems like a good idea
I've looked at the discussion and responses on teh website although ihaven't seen the movement.  I don't know exactly how you are making all of this work together or how your are structuring the dance or the rehearsals so I'll just share with you what might be helpful/inspiring etc.

I just showed a work in progress - it was a solo and i'm trying to get you a copy of teh tape of a run through- it is very simple, clear and meditative . We generated the movement using structured improvisation and writing.  Here are some of teh things we did- you may want to try them/combine them with what you are planning.

We did a simpel mirroring exercise in which one person lead and the othe rfollowed- starting simple standing and doing movement- mainly arm gestures but not only and developing as they felt comfortable- from there they switched roles- each having a chance to lead and taking more risks making it harder . Then we repeated the exercise except with no designated leader- they had developed a way to sense and anticipate the other moving and a great sensitivity to each other.....From there - they could take more risks and move more freely through space. It is a process - built up slowly.

Another improv was a warping exercise in which one person was the initiater and the other reflected back movement warped- transforming it into another body part/dynamic/shape/etc. We used teh idea of a fun house mirror as a stimulus. This can also develop in many directions and can be traveled or done in different relationships.

On another day, we did an exercise in which one person improvised and the other one/two reflected back whatever they remembered as accurately as possible- we started simple and gradually make it more difficult-so it was virtually impossible to remember the entire sequence but the person still had to reflect back whatever they remembered/retained to the best of their ability.  You can do this in pairs or a group or go around a cirlce etc.  It is a challenge but reveals alot about people's tendencies and about how to retain the essence of a sequence.

I got some basic physics books about light, reflection, mirrors and colors and we worked with the text and the ideas/principles behind the way we see. That was interesting- how a mirror works- light rays reflecting off a polished surface angle of incidence/reflection, we see colors b/c light is reflected and absorbed off of objects, white light contains all the colors
our eyes see a virtual image in the mirror- real images are ones that are produced by light rays and can be projected onto a screen for example but a mirror image is virtual - the brain thinks light is coming from that source but it isnt- it is reflected off the surface...
refraction- the wavelength changes speed and thus directionwhen mving though different materials
Concave- refect and bring rays into a focus the image is larger than the object magnified
Convext- reflect rays outward and appear to come froma single point behind the mirror- capture rays frome awide area and see an image of a large area..

The dancers really enjoyed the improvisations and I used it as a way to generate movement material.  They said it was really powerful and helpful to work this way because in the process they learned alot about the other person and more importantly about themself- how they move, what they prefer etc. It also enhanced their work together - immensely in a way that we would never have been able to achieve had i come in an set work on them.  Important to this process was preparing them to do this sort of work- grounding things, doing and exercise with one person laying relaxed ont he floor and the otehr person grabbing hold of the ball of the foot and gentle pushing and pulling- creating a rocking the the other person - and observing how that tiny movement was reflected throughout the body- into the fingertips and even the hair - you could see immediately if energy was blocked anywhere.

Here is a copy of the text I used with my "Through the looking Glass" solo-
It was composed using text we all wrote over the weeks we worked together and fromthe discussions that followed our sessions.
    Mirrors are really funny. They reflect the outside surface of things and can reveal whats happening inside.
    They can distort shape, proximity, and size.
    They can make a space look bigger.
    A mirror shows exactly what IS- it reflects the truth. It is clear, simple, direct, revealing.
    I feel I have a balanced relationship with them.
    Sometimes I love looking at my image, and sometimes I hate doing it.
    Sometimes I ignore them, and sometimes they ignore me.
    It is very different seeing myself and seeing others in a mirror.
    Sometimes I feel awkward seeing my reflection.
    Sometimes its intimate and sometimes its strange.
    I like to think I take care of my image for MYSELF and not because of what other people think.
    I see myself in opposites- the difference between in and out, calmness and eagerness, sadness and joy, simplicity and complexity.
    In the end, I think my image is a reflection of my soul- a reflection of what state I'm in.

So sita- thats alot i know. I think inherent in it all is the idea of transformation- and in working wiht them, we were all transformed- our ideas about ourself, our own image, etc. it was reflected in the piece.
I can share more with you - but i don't want to overload you- let me know.

27th February
Sita:
We are not sure how we are going to structure the work yet, or even if we are aiming for a finished product.  We are wanting to create a workshop-feel to this project, and we will have some sort of sharing/performance at the end.  As I have mentioned above, iVisit might be the way to do this - please let me know what you think and whether you think we should be working towards a product for the end of the project or a work in progress.

At present we are making short phrases of movement, partly because this is what we can put up on the Web site (when the wretched thing will let us!!).  More than about 30 seconds of material becomes prohibitive to people on modem connections.  However we hope to structure that movement over the course of the project, and we would welcome suggestions about how to do it.  Of course, when you can SEE the movement that will become easier...

Kareen:
You know that there will always be gliches of this sort and more in this field on which we tread.  To a certain extent, I'd say it's part of the performance. Adversity in the creative process leaves room to pursue other avenues of expression....blah blah blah.
But to a certain extent, I believe this, and the more technically challenging we make our art, the more variables we add, the more can subsequently  can go awry. Such is life in cyberart.
Don't worry about it.

Sita:
Thank you for the moral support, Kareen - you're absolutely right!!

Clare:
I like the idea of the ivisit sharing session and I would certainly want to take part.

Steven:
Hang in there! I don't why we "humanist" types(lovers of dance and people) are always attracted to edgy situations with machines...I have been doing this crazy kind of stuff since 1972 when mainframe computers were used for the simplest graphics progams...and with the tv programs also that had editing systems that took up most of  a whole floor of a building and crashing every 15 minutes! But we were "bringing dance to the millions" or so we thought...and I think the electronic media has transformed the arts---some for the better some for the worse.....And now we aren't happy unless we spend a great deal of our waking hours(and our dreams!) having a quesy feeling....(knotted, wirey, dreams)....

But the wonder of it is---here I am and there you are across the sea and we are actually working creatively together with a group equally diverse and scattered...(Having the built-in luxury of the students is great---I have not had it so good since graduate school!)

Visions of the girls' duets and studies with reflections/image are now on my mind...So...when I have a new thought...(something to do with entrances and exits and sudden interactions center stage with the mirror prop and/or each other)...I will email pronto.

I just read over the discussion page and liked very much Colleen's mirror improvs to which I would add one that it is personal favorite that I use at the very beginning of workshops to help people get to know each other a bit. It is called "gifts" and I got it as a gift from my work as a student of Daniel Nagrin. Instead of the mirror concept, the pairs of dancers decides who starts and the leader must do whatever they think the OTHER person wants and needs for their mind, body and heart at that moment, that time---There can be vocalizing but the idea is to give the gift non-verbally, through paying attention to the other and deciding what kind of moving is what they are looking for... Switch roles after an appropriate time.

28th February
Sita:
Thank you so much for your email, Steven - everyone is so supportive!  I sometimes think that working with the vaguaries of machines actually brings the people closer together (as in adversity!!).

Sita:
The server appears to be OK again now - click here to see the rehearsal pages and movies!!  Please email me if you experience any further problems with movies, images, etc.

Kareen:
I'm still having problems with browser crashing however.  Perhaps my machine is tempermental as well. I'll keep trying, since I am catching some of the choreography.
Love that downtown-dance-in-my-street clothes-look.  So de la hip :)
I absolutely love Clare's image(s).  WOW!  I found it very personal and open, and strangely sad in a way.  Way to go, Claire!

Sita:
Oh, dear - are we still crashing people's browsers?  Do please let me know if anyone are having problems with the movies, and we will try and sort it out.
Yep, we're very hip here!!

Steven:
The mirror trio is beautiful!  [Click here to see mirror trio via links from Rehearsal 2 page] Works very well as an internet dance piece because of the intimacy--(big movements always suffer even on larger screen work)....I highly encourage further work on this as a short work that could be presented on the net at the end  of the project....Very successful!

The improvs with the chairs also had some good moments---I would suggest (1) a different separator---a screen of fabric that could be passed through for example; (2) facing the whole group either downstage left or right as opposed to head on and stretching it out; (3) most importantly, developing each side's phrases so they are longer before shifting across...and work on some clarity of the unison versus free take-offs...There was a very nice moment when the there girls on the right side were doing the same thing with curving arms over the head and were also spatially well related---it was good counterpoint to what was happening solo and more athletically on the left.

I believe a  choreography is emerging and it is always a good plan(though more demanding) to try to put things together rather than just have disparate studies. I think that there is almost enough basic material between the humorous and dancey duets, the quiet and intimate trio, and the group work with the split stage, to develop a ten minute or so piece. I think the theme is well established thoughout and the work is now to create depth in each section and a flow between(Easy for me to say!)
I would also suggest some face to face interactions between the girls---I think that Colleen's improvs will provide the impetus for that.

I am still having some problems with the QT files but I was able to see everything! Most enjoyable...thanks for your efforts and sharing.

29th February
Sita:
I like the mirror trio too - I'm thinking of making a 'duet for one dancer with mirror' section from it as well, perhaps using Clare's image as a theme for it. [Click here to see the Inspirations page with Clare's image]
I think the movement material is now getting there.  We will use Colleen's and Steven's suggestions to start to structure the dance this week.  We will use the inspirations that have been sent in to develop the quality and depth of the movement, but if anyone else has suggestions, possibly for specific qualities or feelings to bring out in the dancers' movements then that would be helpful.

I'm sorry that people are still having problems with the movies - I will look into it today.  It's never easy, is it?!

1st March
Clare:
I loved the mirror trio! It was very difficult to make out which were the dancers and which the reflections.... quite fascinating!

Colleen:
Looking at the movement material created, I have some thoughts/observations.
The first is a structural thing that you may want to decide with your dancers-  what is it that you are reflecting/transforming.... perhaps explore different things- types of relationships with own image/image of others

The first rehearsal is about perception I think ...

The second one I see as playing with the mirror and works well given a small frame- but it might not work live but you may want to try the same thing but having the dancers face each other and be the reflection- I was particularly struck by tthe image of the middle dancer leaning away /back from the mirror and then coming up close-  interesting.

Also with improvisation, there is a danger that if not pushed/structured, a person will tend to move the way they like to move and come up with the same or similar things- just something youare probably already aware of .

I think that in this situation however, its important with so many ideas/collaborators/dancers to have a throughline and when generating the material that it fits together as a cohesive whole.

You asked about feedback for the improv  you did spliting the space and having the chair as the imaginary line which separates the type of movement to do....
one thing might be to have a signal between the dancers or a moment of eye contact that would initiate the change
another idea is to set the line on a diagonal instead of straight down the middle--  you might even draw it on the floor with chalk- you could also play with that idea- carving up the space and designating areas for each type of movement- the chalk on the floor could work there too... hope it helps!!

2nd March
Sita:
Colleen, you are right about the dangers of unstructured improv, and we are running into that problem with the one from Rehearsal 2 - it doesn't really have a clear enough intention.

I too love the image of the dancer leaning back from the mirror and coming close - we've tried to work a little with this in the mirror duet from Rehearsal 3.  We do need to start structuring the work and we need to keep a real clarity of intention here, so EVERYBODY please say if we appear to be deviating from the path!!

Interestingly some of Colleen's comments agree with Steven's, and some of them we began exploring yesterday and I put on the Web very late last night!!  Steven and Colleen both suggested doing the improv on the diagonal, and we are planning to do that.  However, yesterday we concentrated on the mirror trio.

Steven:
The new March 1 mirror pieces are great! I would definitely try some zooms to close-ups if you can. The dissolve was good in "Three Ages." The girls are all revealing their acting skills as well as being good dancers!

Sita:
I'll give zooms to close-ups a go - I'm not the world's best camera-person!!

Clare:
Thank you for the Three Ages dance. I thought it caught the changes of the three ages well. The first two seemed spot on but I was not quite so happy with the third. Perhaps Beccy's fears of old age coloured it a little strongly for me and I would have wanted a feeling of greater dignity and more acceptance. However, for a young lass like Beccy portraying old age is a tall order and she left us in no doubt that this was an old woman. Your dancers certainly do have acting skills!

I liked the mirror duet very much but found the mirror group rather frustrating as I wanted to see what the dancers at the back were doing. I felt I was missing half of what was going on. Not being in any way dance trained I can't figure out how one would resolve that problem, other than seating the dancers with the front pairs further apart but I've a suspicion that might destroy the feeling of the mirror. Has anyone in the group any suggestions?

3rd March
Sita:
The records for Rehearsal 4 are now up!  Please take a look - I'm putting up images so that even if you don't download the movies you can still get an idea of what we are doing.

The sharing/performance will be on Friday 17th March at 6pm British time.  That is 1pm EST I believe, but I will check on that.  If you haven't used iVisit before and would like some help with getting set up then please drop me an email, and I will walk you through it step-by-step.  We will go ahead with it for anyone who can turn up, but the more the merrier!

Steven:
You have some really strong material here! Depending on what kind of thing you want to do with it now there are a number of considerations. Do you want to make a "finished" piece based on the theme and using the studies. If you do, you have to find a very ingenius way of moving from the intimate sections that almost seem best for video to the more dynamic material. Music could provide such a glue, and/or a rough storyline...I personally feel that type of approach will yield more powerful results than just stringing the material together based on a spatial strategy(which might be all that emerges from our input on structure since this type of feedback loop is very time consuming and misses the spontaneous moment with the dancers and yourself). However, you of course can do both.

4th March
Sita:
It would be wonderful if we could construct a story for the material - an urban myth of our own perhaps - I will make up a Web page for that to happen...

Sita:
OK, the urban myth page is up - you can create a new story or tell one that you know, with the theme of reflections and transformations in mind.  It will become the link that builds all our movement material into the dance.

6th March
Sita:
Colleen and Emma have sent in some thoughts for the story behind the dance.  You can see them on the urban myth-making page.  Please let me know what you think about this as an idea for constructing the dance - we are open to ideas and can always run a couple of different approaches at the same time.

8th March
Sita:
Click here to see how we started to construct the dance in our fifth rehearsal, using the story ideas sent in so far.  I'm sorry that there are no images - we got so involved in the rehearsal that I completely forgot to take any film!

Kareen:
Hi all,
Regarding wrapping it all up into a cohesive proverbial burrito of sorts:

As our theme has been reflections and transformation and we've dabbled a bit with urban myths, I think what is most underlying and inherent in this kind of work (dance and technology) is the communication  - the presentation of ones ideas in this forum-like setting that Sita has described for us.  I feel that through this project I am a part of a new generation of artistic collaboration.  How exciting that time and distance have no constraint whatsoever in this process!  As the idea is placed before the group, we see how it is understood by the other participants and possibly reflected in their own voice, then subsequently transformed into something new and of an entirely different medium.  It's really quite amazing; don't' you agree?

12th March
Click here to see Kareen's new 'Paula's Boyfriend' movies.

Colleen:
i just had a look at whats been happening

initial response  but have to reflect more on it before i come to any conclusions..

but- three ages idea brilliant- it could also be taken into more abstract movement- and if the dancers exchange movement-  fit with transformation theme- even without it, transformation of age through time

perhaps even a magic mirror which reverses aging .. that fits with the dorian grey theme as well...

the mirror group beautiful- it reminded me of teh phenomonon that occurs when two mirrors are placed face to face and infinitely reflect back the image creating the illusion of a long tunnel.... WORK with that...

ideas for overall strucure... the crossover point could work and some of the close up work is fabulous it might be interesting to switch off between whole body and close up-sections the head rolling or ageing as a way of telling the story-  bringing attention to details...

one more random thing- this weekend i caught a glimpse of a tv programme in which the characters used a mirror as a portal for travel.....

Sita:
I'm really glad you liked the stuff on the site - I like the idea of the magic mirror that reverses ageing!!  We'll have a go at developing the three ages material this week.

The infinitely reflecting images is also echoed in Kareen's image at the bottom of the inspirations page - we will play with picking that up more too...in fact that gives me an idea right now for putting the dancers in the places of the repeated reflections, going back into the mirror...perhaps the end of the piece...

I'm hoping to be able to work with whole bodies/body parts using the camera - but unfortunately I'm limited by my little webcam.  It doesn't have a zoom facility, and is on a short wire, so we can't do too much - but I will experiment with bringing the dancers closer to the camera instead.

The mirror as a portal for travel - Alice Through the Looking Glass - we'll play with that too...

15th March
Sita:
Click here to see how we got on in our sixth rehearsal!

17th March - End-of-project Sharing
Steven:
Again thanks to you and your dancers--please tell them again that I really enjoyed their dance! I look forward to seeing the movies of the piece...

I will say this much now on the basis of the internet iVisit version.. Geordie(my wife who watched and got so fired up she wrote you!) and I  both found it fascinating...Now take this with a big grain of salt!  We have seen a lot of dance over the years and perhaps it was the perceptual break-down itself that led to a novelty for us.

But that said...there is something eerie and also compelling about seeing the moments of a continuous process...I notice this when I  have worked with with rotoscoping and creating animation from stills...It is almost the effect of poetry....Meaning: evocative moments from a larger whole that you have to provide the subtext for...And it is happening on a more visceral/emotive level because it is non-verbal...Something purposeful seems to be happening and it is made even more mysterious by fragmentation...So the unconscious wants to fill in and sometimes fills in from its own peculiar data-banks.

Anyway it seemed to me that you were definitely trying to capitalize on the internet properties by making things slower so that "tableaux" could form ....which is the effect I  meant when I said Egyptian hieroglyphics...what I really meant was like a mysterious sequence from a mural, frieze or tableau, or many such, one after the other.

Whether you were trying to do this consciously or not, that is what worked for me as medium-specific....We will see how it changes with better motion...Talk about transformations!

Without falling down the rabbit hole of armchair philosophizing (is that a mixed metaphor?)...you know, what is dance, what is art, the medium is the message...blah,blah....Evocativeness can occur by chance or mediation, but an artist must be involved in the communication or the evocative properties do not resonate---they slip by without witness or communication, without a presence to inspire the viewer/audience look for what might be there.

Cunningham is gifted in working with the chance elements(which I witnessed once for a "Dance in America" tv program in which it was quite clear that neither he nor Charlie Atlas knew much about high-end tv studio shooting techniques)....But there is only so much even a gifted person can create from what are essentially random, meaning autonomous,"faults" in the communication system.

I think there are some great things going on here! You have done what I was hoping would happen in the early stages of my current project---people really sharing with the new possibilities...a few photos, clips, emails can really get some things popping up. Unfortunately there was more back and forth about schedules and apparently little time for my colleagues to venture into what is still new for them.

(I see the animation/notation advances as also very significant but only at the most fine-tuned level of a collaborative creation via the web...as opposed to reconstruction of an existing work).

Your smiling at the end meant a lot to me---I felt we indeed were all connected in this process..and I loved the seriousness of the girls efforts, loyalty to each other and to you....Wonderful...To me those are the true deep sources and elements of collaborative creative work....No point telling you this---you are as dedicated as they come!

I'm sure I will have something more to say when I see the movies! (You may ask : is that possible?) Yes, I too write about such arcane matters...and they continue to fascinate me..

Best, Steven

Sita:
Thank you very much for your comments - we all enjoyed doing the project and it was wonderful that everyone became so involved in it.

We did indeed work with the fragmentation of the medium - you couldn't hear because we weren't using sound, but I was watching the image that you could see and constantly giving instructions, such as 'hold that for a while' on particular images that I wanted you to catch, or framing instructions to the dancers.  We choreographed the version for the videoconferencing to be bigger and much more exaggerated so that we would get moments when the dancers moved faster and became blurred, or simply suddenly appeared on the screen from nowhere.  We also picked out certain parts to be slow so that you might get more of a sense of the movement.  I'm really glad it worked as well as it did!!

I think it might be Monday before I get the video up on the site - I need a little time to recover and we've got people coming to dinner tonight!

20th March
Sita:
The final dance outcome is now up on the site as a series of movies - click here to see them.