The Arts in the Corporate Workplace - Why?

I've been working diligently for the last year on the who, what, where & when of my project Process Works but with our performances at the Sanford Consortium quickly approaching, I think it's time to return to my "why". Why do I want to bring dance into the workplace? Why do I think contemporary dance could have a relationship to science and technology...let alone corporate businesses as a whole? Why do I think dance should matter to the rest of the world?

Big questions...I think this is going to be a multiple part answer and a multiple part blog post - so here is why #1:

Dear Ol' Dad

When giving a post performance talk for my thesis dance piece Space Between, I explained the details of the dance and how each night we created the dance new with a certain amount of improvisation. My father raised his hand and asked "Why Improvisation". Knowing that he came from many years of watching me perform more traditional dance, I assumed that his preference was the structure he was used to. I explained to the audience that I long for awareness of the present moment both in performance and in life. Improvisation is not a “style” of dance but a way of being in the world.  A way of never allowing life to become “fixed” or “stale”. A reminder to listen to what my intuition is asking of me at every given moment.  

The next day, my dad said to me, "You do what I do".

Wait - what?! My dad is an engineer. He's supposed to be a lover of systems and strict protocol. But what I found out was that engrained in my father's philosophy of engineering, is the importance of constantly checking in with these systems to ensure they still make sense within the current circumstances. His philosophy reminds us that we are human and things change or at the very least shift. He felt supported by the work I was making. No more auto-pilot. No more blindly following a model that is no longer relevant or interesting. With even a small bit of attention on the present moment, our ability to respond to the specific needs of this moment becomes possible. 

So - WOW - if my dad could relate to my work at this level, are there others? Are there pockets of individuals out there who would feel supported in their work by becoming aware of our work? If so, I look forward to finding and building on these connections.

Process Works @ The Sanford Consortium

Process Works @ Bella Vista Social Club at the Sanford Consortium - Oct. 15, Oct. 29, & Nov. 12 @ lunchtime!

I am thrilled to announce that my current project Process Works; An Arts Integration Program will have its premiere performances at Bella Vista Social Club and Caffe @ the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. We will perform Three Thursdays this Fall - October 15, October 29, and November 12. The performances are set for lunchtime starting at both noon and 1pm on each of these dates and they are all FREE to the public. Bring your lunch or enjoy an amazing meal, coffee, or vino at Bella Vista. All are welcome.

As the culminating event for my Creative Catalyst Fellowship, this project brings live contemporary dance performance directly to individuals working in the fields of science and technology. Choreographed by (me) Alicia Peterson Baskel and performed by Wallpaper Performance Company, Process Works aims to support creativity, collaboration, and innovation in the workplace.

Process Works is funded by the Creative Catalyst Fund at The San Diego Foundation and supported by Mojalet Dance Collective.

A Performative Moment - Ocean View

I sit in my car. Parked on a road that looks straight at the ocean. At first all I see is what I already know about the ocean. Blue/Grey color, constant motion, splashing. Breathe in…breathe out. I see surfers' torsos in a collective on the far right side of this tapestry. This is where I'm supposed to be looking. I've seen it now, so I open my book to read…

But I quickly put my book down and stare up at the ocean again. Thinking - not seeing. Then I see again. Then I choose to see more.

I look to my right at the pattern of succulents arranged in their concrete planters. Some tall and green and prickly. Others small and black and curvy.

I see cars pass by in the corner of my eye along the road that runs parallel with the coast. Suddenly, I notice that I can see their reflection in the window behind these succulents as the car drives on.

Then I notice there are two window panes and two reflections.

Then I see my car as myself. Twice. And somehow I am surprised. I didn't recognize that I am a part of this world. I am looking AT it, but I am also IN it.

Slowly my eyes drift down, wondering what other details I might be missing.

Scratches and indentations in the concrete take me to the construction site that this once was and the thrill the owners must have felt in their ocean front purchase.

Suddenly, I see two men enter the frame I've created. Both drenched in sweat. One with a ladder and one with a squiggy coming to clean the windows I've been staring into.

How Funny - I think - the many layers of reality.

Work That Inspires Me...

There are moments in one's creative life when she is inspired by all the work she sees. And there are moments when nothing is sparking those much needed creative juices. I see A LOT of dance, so I have a tendency to rely on the dance performances I see to bring me this satisfaction and forward momentum. But when I can't find inspiration through dance, I have to find it outside my craft.

So how about finding inspiration from popular culture? Not necessarily the place you'd expect to find artistic inspiration but I've found two HBO productions that inspire and excite me. Let me explain why...

1. Foo Fighter's Sonic Highways Album

What I find Inspiring: 

The Creative Process: Here is a band immersed in popular culture without intending to be. The group's leader, Dave Grall, coming from 20 years of song writing proposed a NEW process for this album. They would travel to eight different recording studios in music communities that are steeped in history. The band allows themselves to be inspired by the people and stories they come in contact with. They then write and record a new song at the end of their week in this place. They did this at each of these 8 cities.  

Revealing the Creative Process: Not only did these artists follow this process, but they documented it with cameras. They reveal their process, while telling the story of each city's deep music history. There is an hour documentary on each of the 8 cities and at the end on each the song is revealed. I didn't always like the music, but I now have a connection to it that goes beyond aesthetics. I know the story behind each song.

2. Newsroom (HBO TV series)

What I find Inspring:

The Form: There is not much a writer/director/producer can do to vary the form of a television series. Audiences have specific expectations. But at least in its first year, Newsroom told their stories from unexpected orientations. In their second season, they tried a new format altogether that was meant to last the entire season.

The Content: This fictional news team aims to tell "the news" which doesn't necessarily make them the most popular news program. While the leading (fictional) programs focus on celebrity and foster dramatic hype, this news room refuses to sacrifice their integrity and struggle with this in the face of a changing culture. Most interesting to me is that these journalists maintain an idealistic view and choose to believe that their audience is intelligent and wants to be challenged. 

Process Works Update #2 - Collaboration

I can't help it - I LOVE my rehearsals. I find deep satisfaction each week as the performers I'm working with engage with the framework that I've provided. The discussions that ensue following each part of the choreography are equally as stimulating as the work itself.

For example: Last night we engaged with a piece of the choreography that we lovingly call Priority 7. It seems like it should be the easiest and most straight forward portion of this work. The dancers enter the space together with the intention of responding to one another (6 performers) and also responding to what is happening in the over-arching "dance" as a whole. This is the 7th element.

Priority 7, while structurally very satisfying, is missing a key element - individuality. The entire focus of Priority 7 is to pursue a selfless collaboration. Agreement is a word we once used to describe this section. But last night, we dove more deeply into what agreement actually means.

I discovered last night that agreement has come to mean some kind of unison, whether it is direct unison or simply an evolution of another dancer's movement. Agreement has meant sameness. But this is NOT what I was meaning by 'agreement' and so maybe this is the wrong word. I think a more useful word (or phrase rather) would be 'serving the whole'.

This is where we started to discuss the 7th element in clear detail. The seventh element again is the dance as a whole. I imagine that the dancers can take a birds-eye view of the dance at any moment. So that they are dealing with their immediate surroundings, but also keeping track of where the dance is going, what shapes are being made, what relationships are being established, etc. This means that the choreographers mind gets to working at any given time during this first section to help create what each individual performer might decide is an aesthetically pleasing dance.

We imagine that this way of working might be universal. Collaboration exists in most fields in various ways. This kind of collaboration can work - it gets things done, keeps individuals working, but in our case it is particularly safe. It doesn't produce the most innovative results. It's not meant to. It is meant to get the job done in a way that is mostly known but extremely efficient and systematic. This is why this section is only the beginning...

Let's have a conversation about having a conversation

Written in December. Updated today:

In November, I had the privilege of seeing/witnessing/participating in Sadie Weinberg's piece "Happiness; an experiment." Sadie has been working on this piece for over a year and in fact, I saw the piece nearly a year ago in another venue. The piece was great, but I'm not actually writing this blog about that dance. I'm writing this blog to unravel the amazing conversation I had with Sadie immediately following the work.

Because I'd had two experiences with the piece, I could clearly see its development. I appreciated the growth the piece was able to undergo within that process. At the after-conversation, I approached Sadie almost right away and stole nearly 30 minutes of her time.  I wanted to tell her how much I appreciated that she'd allowed her work to evolve over time. And because she was so open to hearing my experience, I was able to talk her through some of my own ups and downs within the piece without apprehension. I was able to tell her the things that had concerned me in the original version and how some of her changes in this version allowed me to shift in my perspective. I was able to share with her my journey - not just the good or the bad, but quite simply my journey. She was open to and interested in all of it.

It felt like such a relief. I'd really enjoyed the piece and to be able to talk to its creator in such a candid way was…well…foreign to me.

Okay, maybe thats not all together true. In grad school, I was able to talk with some of my colleagues about our work without letting our egos enter the conversation. We were most concerned with the work. We trusted each other and respected our different aesthetics. We could see the work from both our own perspectives and desires, but also from the other's perspective.

This has gotten difficult for me in my current situation and (I may be making an assumption here)...I think it is an issue in San Diego.

How do we talk to each other about our work??

I attended the Choreolab performance that the La Jolla Music Society offered up in late Janurary (more on that in another blog). I do have some issues I feel need to be raised surrounding the details of this event, but one thing was very clear - the simple feedback from these artists allowed the various works to blossom internally. I wondered what might have been gained if this panel were to include some of San Diego's nationally and internationally known choreographers? We have it within our own community to grow and evolve our work, if we could only open ourselves up to give feedback with respect and receive feedback with an open-mind. Communicating from a perspective that supports the work - that's all.

Process Works Update #1: Casting

I have always been the type of artist who delights in taking my time with the creative process. I cherish time and space as I allow my work to be revealed to me.

I started this process last April (2014) - not knowing where it would lead. My plan was to work with dancers individually for seven rehearsals with the intention to eventually put a group together. It's amazing what these one on one rehearsals did for me and the group. I was able to build a dialog with each of the dancers individually about the internal workings of my aesthetic. Each of them worked somewhat differently, but the 5 dancers I asked to be in the group had several things in common.

First of all, they are each choreographers in their own right so they come to the work with an intrinsic understanding of the organization of space and time. However, though they are experienced dancers and dance makers (mostly in their thirties) they choose to enter into my process with curiosity, vulnerability, and trust. Trust in me & my processes, trust in each other, and trust in themselves. It's a beautiful space to begin making work.

Thank you Kris, Erica, Jenn, Lara, Ariana, and Kyle. It's my pleasure to work with you all!

A quiet community?

Written in October - Updated today:

I've had many contradictory experiences lately relating to the state of San Diego dance. Or maybe they are pointing to a transitional time for the San Diego dance community. Or maybe they are pointing to a gap between what IS happening, what WAS happening, and what COULD BE happening. Or maybe they just point toward what I want to see happening...

Situation #1

My meditation teacher introduced me to a man in our meditation group who used to dance with Martha Graham. I told him that I am a choreographer in the community and he expressed his thoughts about San Diego's community. He suggested we are a "quiet community". He went on to talk about his time with Martha (pronounced by him - "Maww-thaww") and we left with the thought that we might have coffee sometime, but I'm still not sure if he's actually interested.

This idea of "quiet community" stayed with me throughout the day. I think he said this to me during a week when I'd arranged three or four performances to see that week.

Situation #2

Dance Community Meeting - last summer San Diego Dance Connect invited the entire dance community to gather to start a discussion about our needs as a whole. There is not enough time for everything, but something that stood out was the response of the president of DanceUSA saying that she was very impressed with this community after being in San Diego for several days. I don't think she expected to be so impressed.

Situation #3

Gabe Masson, a nationally (if not internationally) known choreographer told me last June that he would be moving back to NYC.  He said he'd been making work and touring it all over the states, but not in San Diego for at least the last 5 or 6 years. He said there just isn't a place for him here.

Situation #4

SD Dance Conversation - Once a month for the last eight months or so, A grouping of self-proclaimed 'dance geeks' (myself included when I can make it) gather to share videos and have discussions. The group is a diverse cut of the (under 40) contemporary/modern dance community with varying aesthetics and opinions. We've had some great conversations and I'm interested in understanding why each individual loves what they love. I feel this discussion is opening me up to new/old ideas, reminding me of my own values and priorities in dance and dance making, and allowing me push against some concepts in a safe and accepting place.

So…

What's the deal? We do seem to be a quiet community, but how do we make our voices louder? There are many of us here who are making and watching and challenging and growing. Do we value our work? Do we value each other for making work (even outside our aesthetic?) How do we encourage non-dancers of San Diego to also value the community of dance artists here. I'm not entirely sure - except I do know that we could all speak up. We could push ourselves more and be willing to completely fail. We could support risk-taking by supporting 'failure'! We could talk about our work more. We could talk about each other's work more. We could market our work more. We could take our work outside of San Diego. We could see more work outside of San Diego. We could share our own work more often in San Diego. We can continue to be willing to grow and evolve and see ourselves as artists instead of entertainment with the understanding that the more voices and opinions we honor within the conversation, the louder we become as a whole. This is my great wish for my/our future as a community.

Arts Integration Program seeks collaborators in the fields of Science or Technology

Wallpaper Performance Company is piloting a new arts integration program in San Diego. This program called Process Works will bring live improvised dance performance directly to organizations in the fields of science or technology and their employees over their lunch hour. We are working to provide this opportunity free of charge for two organizations.

According to a 2013 study of improvised performance (published in Music Performance Research):

"An area of the brain known to be involved in sustained attention, working memory and the inhibition of responses, known as the Brodmann 9 area was much more active in both musicians (peformers) and listeners (audience) during the improvised performances."

If you are interested in learning more about Process Works, please check out THIS LINK for detailed information. Or email Alicia Peterson Baskel: aliciapetersonbaskel@gmail.com

My Solo Performance - June 12

I performed my solo at this (the improvised series) on June 12th and in that performance I found myself able to trust the present moment and my past assumptions/scores/ideas about this piece simultaneously.  This is the script of the dance I made as I witnessed it. All non-italicized language was spoken aloud by me in performance:

I've been having a really hard time determining which direction I want this piece to go. I have three titles that I've been toying with, but I've been hoping that by performance time, I would have a clear idea of which of these three titles to go with.  But I don't.

So, I'd like to ask for your help. I'm going to read you these three titles and I want you to choose which one you feel most resonates with you.

1. Structure Festival
2. First day of Freedom
3. Flash Fiction

(The audience individually spoke their decision with conviction. I did a show of hands and there were only 2 votes for Structure Festival and the remainder of the votes seemed to be dispursed equally between the remaining two. All involved were fully committed to their choice - I started with Structure Festival)

Have any of you been to a Structure Festival? (no hands raise) Let me give you a little background. In 2004, I attended Bates Dance Festival in Maine and there I took a three week choreography class with a man whose name some of you will recognize, Tere O'Connor. In our third week, Tere got almost silly excited about this week becoming what he called "structure festival"! What I remember most about this festival was our first assignment:

We were meant to choose a specific time, say 1pm - 1:10pm. We might be sitting at a cafe at the time, or anywhere else for that mater. In Tere's example we are at a cafe. At 1pm the dance starts:

A person walks in and orders a Latte - walks out
A second person walks in and orders an espresso - walks out
Some time passes
A third person walks in orders a...
I check my purse for some chapstick, can't find it
That third person walks by me carrying a croissant and a glass of water
I realize I'm hungry so I check my purse again for some money
I find the chapstick
I find the money
etc
etc
The piece is done at 1:10

Everything that happens, including where I put my attention becomes the journey of the dance. Our assignment was to notice our own dance structure and bring it to share with the class the next day.

At this point in the piece I lay down. I start to move my body from a fetal position. I notice the floor. I notice my arm moving on the floor. I notice for a moment that my movements may appear to be interpreting the structure I just laid out for the audience. This is not intentional. I find my way to standing. I continue to move for many minutes without speaking. Just following my own attention in an improvisation. I find myself on releve with my arms extended up. As they come down, I ask the audience a question.

What would you do if you'd been away for a long time? Imprisoned? Isolated in some way? Separated from society? What would you do on your first day of freedom? Feel free to speak this in your mind, to your neighbor, out loud...

People in the audience respond. Some whisper things I cannot make out. I hear several people say that they would want to hug all of their loved ones. I hear something about the ocean, and as these responses come in I continue to dance, moving in spiral patterns. Then I stop.

We went to K-Mart. K-MART! On his first day of freedom, he wanted to go to K-Mart. (I begin dancing now, while also speaking) He stood in the toiletry section for over an hour comparing deodorants.

Then more dancing in silence. I am imagining that I am dancing in the K-Mart. The tall cement walls. Neon lights. etc.

"Blue Light Special! Blue Light Special in aisle four!"

I begin running in figure 8's around the space shouting:

We ran. We literally ran. We ran. Literally. We ran. Literally. Literally. We were literally running...

On and on until the running stops

We made it to aisle four just in time to see the presentation by the man wearing his pop star headset microphone and bragging about how this machine was going to make the best salsa we'd ever tasted.

It was pretty damn good. So we bought one.

I start dancing then abruptly stop.

No, we bought five. One for me, one for Elizabeth, one for Lauri, one for Aunt Mary Jo and Uncle Greg, one for Mom and Dad. And wait, no, six. One for Bryce. I still have mine. It sits in the cupboard over the fridge. I never use it.

More dancing. I feel like I'm expanding on the story I just told, but not in any literal way. I've included two of the titles so far and feel an obligation/desire to introduce the third while dancing.  Speaking and dancing simultaneously.

Short Short, Sudden Fiction, Miniatures...I read an article from the New York Times about Flash Fiction this afternoon, doing some research for this piece. But many of their examples didn't do what I'd been taught Flash Fiction was supposed to do. Flash Fiction is meant to take you on a journey and then...

I do a gesture here that indicates the journey but then flips/twists/turns upside down at the end. I repeat this gesture several times.

I wrote a piece of Flash Fiction once. It was about K-Mart.

Or Plastic Tables
Or men in orange suits
Or those jalepanio hamburgers you heat up in the microwave

More Dancing as the energy of the room increases and we can hear the saxophone from the band in the bar below playing a loungy jazz tune. I place myself in the upstage right corner of the space.

I took Tere O'Conner's class just before lunch each day. It rained this particular day early on, but when I came out of my "business of dance" class at 5pm, the sky had cleared. On this side of campus was a beautiful large green lawn with trees that hovered high above. A pathway cut through the center at a diagonal. As I stood at the corner of this great field, I felt water trickling on my skin. But it wasn't rain. I've lived my entire life in Arizona or Southern California, so I'd never experienced rain AFTER the rain before. That canopy of trees had gathered water and the wind was gently blowing the trees, creating this 'rain'. It was incredible and in that moment I realized this would be my structure festival. To get back to my dorm, I'd have to walk this diagonal path, cross the street, and pass two homes before arriving at the house where I was staying. Whatever time it took, this pathway would be my piece.

I begin to walk on the diagonal in the space

I began my journey. I observed the people coming and going. I noticed dancers practicing contact improvisation in the grass to my left. The rain still sprinkling down. On my right was a gorgeous old white church, and I could hear a choir of angels quietly singing in my imagination. As I walked their voices grew. So lovely. Heavenly. Inspiring.

I sing some notes

This dance piece is lovely. I can't wait to share this with my class.

I've come to the corner and the sound of the angels is still getting louder. The trees and the church are now behind me and I'm looking down at the two yellow lines as I cross the street, but the choir continues. I notice the beautiful old homes. Now dormatories, but once richly decorated mansions. The shoe mill down the street also stands empty. But that's a story for another time. The choir hits a climax as I'm admiring the history of this old street. Then, I look down.

In the place where I am now standing, I shake my entire body for at least twenty seconds. I feel as if I am experiencing a siesure. Then I stop and stand for a moment in silence.

I probably don't need to tell you that the choir has stopped. I looked down and saw a squirrel's carcus. I was only a few feet away from my house. I walked the rest of the way to my house and up the stairs in silence.

I say that last line with my back to the audience as I imagine walking up the stairs to my dorm. I am now stageleft. I turn around to face the audience as I imagine I am standing by the front door.

I bow.

Thank you.

The Creative Process of Grant Writing

I'm a little embarrassed that I've let so much time go by without publishing a new post.  It's not that I haven't been writing…oh, I have been writing.  Grant writing.

As many of you may know, grant writing can be intense.

#1 - There is money on the line
#2 - There is money on the line
#3 - How in the world am I supposed to write about a piece I haven't even made yet!
#4 - Even if I can imagine a piece before I've made it, how do I write about it with clarity.
#5 - Budget??!!!

It can be exhausting, but…I love it.

Let me explain. Of course, I love to write about dance or I wouldn't have started this blog. But more importantly the grant writing process allows me to create a vision for my work. I've learned over time how to express clearly what I know about my process - timing for the project, location, collaborators, etc. I've also learned how to be transparent about what I don't know, but this can be difficult. Without knowing what my piece will look like when its done, I can share with my possible funders how I will go about creating the work, what questions I will work with, and what experiments I intend to pursue in rehearsal. They want to know that their money will be put to good use, and it is my job to be clear and confident about how I intend to make this project happen from beginning to end. (Always be sure to have several people read your work before you turn it in. This is incredibly important!)

I say all this as someone who actually hasn't yet received any money from a grant. I have, however, gotten great feedback on my grant writing from individuals who have years of experience on both sides of the granting process. While this is no consolation to actually receiving the funds, it is encouraging and keeps me engaging with this process.

Maybe more important than the money (though funding for the arts is the only way it can be sustainable) is the creative clarity that grant writing provides for me. It forces me to look at my process, create a timeline, gather artists, and create a concept. By the time the grant is due, I am ready to get started!!

Grant or proposal writing has become an integral part of my creative process and I would recommend it to anyone with a seedling of an idea. Explore the logistics, create a plan (an open/flexible plan of course), and let your imagination help you create your vision.  It's an important step toward making your work a reality.

I'll let you know what happens with these grants - fingers crossed.

Do you have a free evening (or 5) this week?

We all know just how much I love to see performance, but do you know how giddy I become at the thought of a performance festival?

The San Diego International Fringe Festival along with independent events at both Canvas Gallery and Space 4 Art make this a hot week for performance. Yesterday, I pulled out my calendar to arrange which show to see which night, and I really had to work at it. This has only happened to be on my two visits to european dance festivals (check out my Berlin and Prague blog entries), but this week it is happening here in San Diego!

In fact, there are so many performances that I cannot come close to seeing them all. Options abound. An added bonus - I don't think any of them are over $10. At this point it looks like I'll get to see at least five dance/music performances between now and Sunday. In fact, tonight, I will see two in one evening. I am thrilled! And also grateful that my husband will put our two year old to bed these nights. I literally have a "butterflies in the stomach" kind of excitement!

San Diego is a city with so much to offer in the arts. I encourage you to get out of your house this week and head to your local theatre or gallery for some inspiring and affordable live performance. You won't regret it.

Hope to see you there!

*San Diego International Fringe Festival
*Canvas Gallery
*Space 4 Art

Get excited about these San Diego performances!

As you may have gathered, I love witnessing performance. I love finding work that asks something of me and my attention, work that allows ME to put the pieces together and keeps me thinking or feeling something well after the final applause.

I have recently seen two such performances here in San Diego. One is described as a "generative song cycle" and the other a "multi-media puppet theatre workshop", but both are openly influenced by the practice of dance/movement improvisation.


Paper Cities (performances tonight and tomorrow night)

created by Iain Gunn and Animal Cracker Conspiracy
June 19 - 21, 8pm @ La Jolla Playhouse (free - but reserve your ticket!)
More info and tickets click here

This work takes audiences on an episodic journey in which the building of cities and knowledge threatens the innocence of our more natural state. The stage is cluttered with familiar objects - books, ladders, a typewriter, eye glasses, cardboard, and suitcases. These objects combined with theatrical imagery, projection design, a live music score, and the life-like characters that emerge from these cardboard puppets usher the audience through this non-linear narrative.

Almost everyone from the audience stayed for the talkback after the hour long performance, and Iain and Bridget seemed genuinely interested in hearing feedback and sharing insights. This is a workshop performance and the artistic team intends to continue to work on this piece for another year. Audience members were perplexed and confused by what they saw...but delighted. Some felt lost without a linear storyline, but were happy to hear details that helped them put their experience together in hindsight.

I saw this work-in-process two months ago at 'this' (the improvised series). While the earlier version didn't have the clarity of concept that Paper Cities has in its current state, I did miss the rawness and vulnerability of their earlier improvised work. I was more attached to the puppets in the earlier version, remembering an intensely tender moment between the mother and her son. Also, there had been a transparency to the puppeteers' performance quality that was replaced with showmanship in this version. The exciting thing is that these performers are interested in working on all of these details in the coming year. I recommend checking it out and I look forward to seeing how Paper Cities evolves.

animalcrackerconspiracy.com


#hackingIMPROV (performances every other Wednesday through July)

curated, composed, and performed by Blair Robert Nelson
June 25, July 9, and July 23 - 7pm @ Space 4 Art ($10)
More info and tickets click here

Blair Robert Nelson is a dear friend and collaborator of mine. Last week I saw his latest work, and I am truly excited about it. With the support of Kris Apple, Blair puts on a performance that would appeal to fans of music, theatre, dance, poetry, and visual art.  While the roots of his performance are clearly planted in music/sound composition, he explores what is possible as a performer within his own work. His movement is subtle but consciously chosen. He reminds me of a conductor of sorts, guiding and responding to his audience simultaneously. We are clearly participating in his experience and therefore an active element in the piece. I enjoyed watching him trust the piece as it arrived. In fact, I hated to take my eyes off of him, he was compelling to watch.

This work is refined, clear, genuine, and thorough.

Refined - He is not resisting/rebelling against anything. He knows who he is.
Clear - He knows who he is. He listens to and trusts his intuition in every moment
Genuine - He listens to and trusts his intuition in every moment. He is transparent and sincere.
Thorough - The journey of the piece was complete (and terribly interesting)

Please put it in your calendar.

blairrobertnelson.com

Magic - that's all I'm asking for!

I thrive on the unfolding of work through its own sometimes mysterious process. A process I've dedicated myself to trusting at all costs.  One particular rehearsal on May 27th reminded me just how much I can trust this art-making process.

It started at 9:45am in the SDDT studio at Dance Place in Point Loma as I rehearsed my solo alongside my friend and trusted colleague, Liam Clancy.

The more we talked about our pieces, the more I found myself feeling perplexed about where my solo was going. I had committed to performing this solo on June 12th for 'this' (the improvised series), but doubted I even had a solo. A few weeks earlier, I'd been interested in using some of my past writing pieces and drawing inspiration from their underlying stories. When I brought my writings into rehearsal, performing them felt arbitrary. They were complete as writings. I toyed with the idea of simply reading them in performance, but the pieces lost the intimacy that comes from reading work privately. I decided to let it all go.

I wondered if I actually wanted to speak in this performance. Was my use of language in performance cutting me off from allowing my movement to speak? I've rehearsed without speaking. It feels good...but I love language.

I told Liam about my dilemma. He suggested we alternate through both our pieces. He'd do his beginning, then I'd do my beginning, then he'd do middle, etc.  We tried it.

My piece was broken up into 5 parts. The first two parts I moved my body but I did not speak. Then on my third round, I felt inclined to sit and tell a story. This was a break through.  In this third round, I allowed myself to tell stories and reveal why I was grappling with telling these stories. I was transparent. I was honest. I was awkward. I was present. I was noticing what choices I was making choreographically. I was everything I hope for in a performer and it felt easeful.

Parts 4 and 5 were magical.  Movement and language worked together to create something larger than either could produce separately.  In the end, as I looked back on the journey of the piece, I appreciated its completeness, its evolution, its artistry, its magic.

That's all I'm asking for from my work, just a little bit of magic.


Come see my solo on June 12th at this (the improvised series)

'hi' - Writing as Dance

I was inspired to write a response to Liam Clancy's solo 'hi' at the May 15th 'this' (the improvised series) at the Expressive Arts Institute in Point Loma:

Were you the director or the interior designer or possibly the camera's lens? Maybe so. But soloist? No. Only an ensemble - light, jar, face, hand, buildings/city, pink light of the sunset reflecting on windows, Daughter and Friend. For a brief moment my viewpoint shifts to the eyes of those socializing below. What do they notice? How do they feel about this brief encounter? 

Flying objects make noise and much time has passed.  

You return and we notice the box of light is blurred, dispersed, as if "art" had put her hands all over it- or time - or time as art - or just process which I tend to call art.  

Then the door opens and I realize I've been giving my attention only to what I can immediately see. Its as if a forgotten character is introduced to the story. Not a new character (what would that have done to my story?) but rather someone I forgot to remember.  And now you are moving in and out of that dispersed spotlight while this new character lingers.

And then - the airplane and the bird - before this moment, I'd decided to ignore them. They can be so obvious...until now. And now their voices mean something. And now your voice means something new. And your connection with those we know you love means more and is and should be.

The piece has become a chorus and the conductor calls end.


For more information about this (the improvised series).

Thoughts on Improvised Performance

San Diego is known for its beaches, sunshine, and laid back lifestyle, but few know San Diego as a place for cutting edge dance.  And even fewer realize that San Diego is a place where much research is happening in the way of improvised performance.

Contemporary dance artists have long wrestled with the assumption that improvised dance is somehow less rigorous than choreographed work. Even this distinction between improvised and choreographed is an insufficient way of viewing dance.  I tend to view dance on a spectrum that exists between “set” and “open”. I might add that there is no such thing as a completely “set” piece of work in dance, since our humanness/liveness naturally offer variation from one performance to the next.  Also, there is no such thing as a completely “open” dance, since each dancer brings with her the influences of her own physical and emotional history.

This expansive space between these two impossible extremes is what I am deeply interested in. I feel grateful to be surrounded by other artists who are grappling with these distinctions - diving deeply into embodied research on presence, relationship with audience, relationship with space, connection, disconnection, structures of time, structures of space, content of movement, meaning, memory, imagination, listening, seeing, responding, choice, design...this list could go on.  What I find even more exciting is that within each topic exist millions of potential experiments and viewpoints.

This is why I believe improvisation in dance deserves/needs to be both performed and seen. It is not merely a “style” of dance but a way of being in the world.  A way of never allowing life to become “fixed” or “stale”. A reminder to listen to what my intuition is asking of me at every given moment.  A reminder of my own responsibility, giving me ownership of the choices I make. Improvisation requires that I recognize the evolution that inevitably occurs with time passing. It allows a parent to respond to the changing needs of a child, a doctor to see each patient as an individual, a builder to make adjustments that could make a home safer in its specific environment/location.

Improvisation is about listening.  Improvisation is NOT about entering a space completely blank, but rather showing up prepared with tools (used both consciously and unconsciously) such as movement techniques, performance techniques, practice/experience, and maybe even a plan, score, or structure of some kind.  Much like the parent who reads books on parenting, the doctor who goes through years of schooling, or the builder who locks his tools safely in his pickup truck, not one of us comes to our jobs empty handed. The good ones come prepared.  The great ones come prepared AND willing to listen.

***Please come see improvised performance - "this" (the improvised series).

Prague - Performance!!

Hello e-travelers - 

This has been my last day here in Prague and by far the most important!

The performance went beautifully!  We arrived at noon to set up for our show at 3pm.  Unfortunately, the tech people seemed quite distracted and bit annoyed with our requests, but they vowed to do everything we asked.  I was a bit nervous about this.  I needed the stage cleared after the performance before ours and I wasn't sure if the scary looking, long haired guy who was constantly helping everyone else (except us) actually understood our requests.  Then we met the man in charge - Steve Brown - who is supposedly a very important man in Sound design in England.  He finally made us feel like we were welcomed and appreciated.  

We watched the two performances before ours which were purely music.  They attracted a fantastic audience.  Then we took the stage!  Everything went flawlessly.  Its a small enough venue that I could see the audience well.  And I could see their wonder and delight.  Some confusion - but mostly delight!!  Even the scary looking guy was smiling the whole time and came up to us afterward to say "great job".  We got a lot of great praise.  People asking Omar about his live sound design program.  People telling me about the journey I took them on with my performance.  And Steve Brown called it "brilliant" and was so happy to have such a performative piece in the mix.  It felt really great!!

Then everyone split and went to their next things...hmmm...well, I guess that's over.  That's the problem with dance.  One moment it is here and the next moment its gone.  That's why I love rehearsal so much, rehearsal is there for me on an ongoing basis.  Performance is grande but rehearsal is what fulfills me.  However, Steve Brown did invite us to go out to dinner with all of the sound design people that night and that really pleased Omar!  

My plan after that was to watch a performance at 4:30, head back to the room and shower (I was soooo sweaty - this has been the hottest and most humid day here so far especially after dancing!) and then meet them back at the theatre to walk to dinner.  So I went to the performance which was really creepy and then I walked back to my hotel.  I got completely ready and then a major thunderstorm hit.  Well - I decided that maybe I should just let Omar take care of this networking and that maybe it was time for me to end my trip.  So I went to restaurant here at the hotel and even though they had run out of half the things on the menu, I stayed there and ordered what I could.  I needed that food.  Out of my nervousness, I hadn't eaten since breakfast.  BTW - while I was sitting in the restaurant the Beach Boy song "I wanna go home" came on.  

So here I am...packing up.  Looking forward to returning home to San Diego and Marc and Rosie.  Prague is a beautiful place with a dance scene that is clearly growing.  Writing all of you about my adventures is so much fun for me - it keeps me from feeling lonely.  Reminder though - Prague is not a place to journey to alone if you can help it.  Maybe New York, Berlin, or London...but not Prague!  This is a place for lovers or groups of young party-goers.  Its also a place for performance artists when these big festivals are here.  

Thanks for coming with me on this journey.

I love you all,

Alicia

Prague - Day 6

Hi All,

Today was a day of festivals and friends here in Prague.  No more wandering the cobblestone streets and narrow roads alone, my UCSD design gang is here!

Truly, this (Prague Quadrennial) is a design festival to showcase designers...there are some performances, but mostly exhibitions.  Honestly, its really not my scene.  I will admit whole-heartedly to being a dance geek.  My love for good contemporary concert dance is almost childlike at times.  And this is how everyone at this festival feels about their area of theatre design.  Almost to a point where performance seemed secondary...and it sort of is in this environment.

So after lunch with my colleagues, some of us went to the theatre to watch a performance in the Sound Kitchen series (our series) which looked like it might be similar to ours.  It wasn't.  It wasn't even close.  They were playing with some new technology that controls sound through movement, but there was nothing artistic or theatrical about it.  After seeing this, I feel even more convinced that I am making really good work.  They (the European performance world) can be a bit snobbish to us American performers, but we've got something really great to share and I'm looking forward to it.

The best part of the day is when I dragged my friends Alina (costume and scenic designer) and Omar (lighting and sound designer) to a dance performance at MY festival (you know, the dance festival that is happening simultaneously).  They were floored by the piece.  It was an incredible duet by two men that was detailed and specific and smart.  These performers changed the space into a square - framed by wooden walls - where we, the audience, sat above them looking into the stage.  My friends could hardly contain themselves when the piece was over.  After looking at extreme scenic design for the last 24 hours, they were moved by the simplicity of this piece and the quality of the performers.  My friends were so excited about dance in that moment and we all decided we are going to make something incredible together.

Then we went to a fancy French Restaurant and had dinner and some lovely red wine.  It was soooo relaxing as we sat on the terrace and watch the sky slowly change colors.  We sat down at 8pm and didn't get up to leave until 11pm.  Ahhhh...  And now I am tired and ready for bed.  

Wish me "merde" for tomorrow's performance!

Much Love,

Alicia

Prague - Day 5

Dobry Den!

Is it already day 5?  Isn't that how it goes?  At first it seemed like such a long time to be in Prague by myself, but now I'm getting a little sad that it is only two more days.  I've finally gotten a hold on this place.  Prague's beauty and history have been consuming me these last few days, but that is not where my deep interests lie.  It may not surprise you all that I am most interested in "now".  Well, I think I finally got out of the tourist bubble (which Prague does a fabulous job of creating) and have a better view of this entire experience.

Starting with the view from the Mandarin Oriental!  Only shortly after I booked my ticket to Prague and Mom was worrying about me big time, a beautiful tall dark haired angel entered her travel agency to tell her all about this five star hotel in Prague.  She and Mom connected immediately...changing Mom's view of this entire situation (only after learning that the original hotel Mom had booked for me was at the center of Prague's late night party scene and has a stripper pole in the bar downstairs - naturally, we found another hotel for me - Hotel Julian - known for its quiet oasisness and library on the first floor - this is more MY scene, I'm afraid)  Happily, due to this meeting of Mom and Gabriela, I was able to connect with someone who lives in Prague.  And today she brought me to lunch at her hotel!  I had to pretend I was Mom (a travel agent from Scottsdale) for a moment for the GM, but that was fine.  The food was amazing and though they have traditional Czech food, I ordered (as recommended by Gabriela) from the asian selection.  Yummy!!!!!  And I enjoyed a Czech wine which she was excited to have me try since I live inCalifornia.  It was very good - for a white wine.  

We talked alot - I learned a little about life before the iron curtain came down (life in communism) when she was just a young girl and mostly I learned about her life here in Prague 'now' and what she admires about the U.S.  It was really nice.  And I was so happy to speak out loud!!!!!!!  I can't express enough how important this has been for both of my trips outside the U.S.  I start to feel a bit isolated.  Not that I can't order or ask for things.  That is easy, almost everyone speaks English or at least body language and pointing helps. But the opportunity to talk and really talk for a couple of hours is so valuable.  Not just type...physically talk. (I told Marc that I've noticed the voice in my head is developing a Czech accent!)

Gabriela then took me on a private tour of the hotel and took my picture standing on the large terrace of the presidential suite which arguably has the best view of the Prague castle in the entire city.  AMAZING!!  The hotel itself is an old monastery that was renovated about 6 years ago.  It is done just perfectly with the charm and structure of the old (even some parts where the really old - 1320 - can be seen through glass walls or floors) but with modern aesthetics.  They have the only "proper" - to quote Gabriela - spa in the city which is housed in the old church and maintains a spiritual and calming presence.  Many locals frown upon the hotel for renovating a historical site (everything here is a historic site!), but I say halaluyah!!   

By now, my colleagues are starting to show up for the festival, so I ate dinner with my collaborator Omar Ramos.  I suggested a place that I've passed in Old Town both times I got lost.  I think it appealed to me because it wasn't like everything else.  It wasn't a cavernous pub or a romantic street cafe, but looked more like a place I might enjoy in San Francisco.  And it was!   It was a wine and cheese restaurant.  Perfect...neither of us were terribly hungry (stuffed from my curry dish at MO) but we wanted to catch up.  It was great wine and great cheese and again, it was nice to talk.  And this time to an American with similar interests.  Phew.  That hour went by fast and then I had to rush off to see my show.

Now this is where I have to take back what I said last night.  As I emerge from my tourist bubble, I can recognize that this festival actually does have something big going on.  They know what they're doing and bringing in fantastic dance artists from all over the world.  I saw one of the most incredible dancers in the world this evening - Louise Lecavalier of La La La Human Steps in Canada.  She is absolutely incredible.  Her physicality was so strong and yet she entered into it so easily and non-chalently, almost like walking.  A skill I am constantly working on.  How do I keep my performing self alive/here/now while dancing choreographed movements?  She does it well.  And she is 53.  Wow...she dances with the wisdom of a 53 year old mixed with the body and movement quality of a 23 year old - amazing.

I left the theatre totally satisfied by her performance...

Until tomorrow,

Alicia

Prague - Day 4

Hello All,

I'm in early tonight.  I had a ticket reserved for me (hadn't paid yet) that I was to pick up on Friday for a show tonight, but when the woman in the box office spoke no English and gave me major attitude, I took that as a sign.  So instead I participated for the first time in the PQ (Prague Quadrennial of performance design and space) and went to a lecture about digital sound/music and performance given by a guy from Boston's MITMedia Lab.  His many inventions and concepts were incredible (two of his students created Guitar Hero and Rock Band!) but then he presented an opera that he created with humans and robots.  Hmmmm...I'm not buying it.  This guy has such brilliant ideas, but put into opera/narrative form, it just turned lame.  Imagine Star Wars as an opera instead of a movie...only with a lame story line.  

I don't mean to be such a performance snob, its just that last year I saw some of the most incredible work I've ever seen...in Berlin.

That's what I've been doing this entire trip.  Comparing the two.  And that's not really fair.  Berlin is a thriving metropolis where innovative artists in all fields go to live and make work for an audience with a hunger for intelligent new work and last year I was in town specifically for their big dance festival (which was far bigger than Prague's and could afford to bring in really big names!)  Clearly, I connected with it.  Prague, as I've said, thrives on tradition.  Which means that their arts (down to their architecture) is traditional.  Tourists buy tickets to the traditional operas and the ballets.  Luckily, though, anywhere the arts live, so do the contemporary arts, they just don't seem to play as large of a role as I'd hoped.  

But this makes me all the more pumped to present my work!  I realize how lucky I am to have had the influences I have at UCSD and in San Diegoin general to move me forward towards what interests me.  I have a feeling the sound designers here are going to be blown away by my collaborator as he performs and mixes my voice in real-time using fancy computer software.  All very cool.

The only new thing I did today was wander through a few parks.  One giant park and one small garden.  As if I haven't already walked enough, I found a "walk" in one of my Prague books that starts at the west corner of a large park called Petrin.  It just happens to be right outside my hotel.  So, I thought, Why not.  That must have been the worst map/guide I've ever used (I am a little bummed that I didn't get the travel guide by Frommer's call: Frommer's Day by Day Prague.  I used that pocket guide in Berlin and went on all kinds of great walks - see there I go again comparing).  Anyways, I didn't manage to see the summit of this hill where they have built what was meant to look like a smaller version of theEiffel Tower.  Really its just a TV tower meant to jumble the German's TV signals.  I'm okay with not getting a close up on that.  Plus it was chilly and raining.  I then made my way to another small park where to my surprise wandered Peacocks.  All around!  I was in shock.  This walled garden and all these peacocks sitting up on a gazebo.  I got pictures.

I did eat at a great restaurant called Cafe Savoy.  I was very please with my meal, but even more pleased with the caramel cream puff I ordered for desert with a glass of champagne.  Don't worry, the food may look bland but if you like meat and potatoes like I do - you're in good shape.  Oh, and I realize why the city is so clean despite every reason for it not to be - they have a large number of employees working in waste management.  Around the clock, I see workers dressed in orange and green jumpsuits cleaning up trash cans, sweeping streets...its nuts, but it sure does work!  This city is super clean and like I said, smells glorious.

Much love,

Alicia