The more I look at it, the more I think dancing is mostly about understanding responsibility and how it functions.
Choreographic Dancing
Dancers are either in a constant state of actively choreographing, or whatever it is they are doing, can't really be called dancing.
No player is bigger than the game
No dancer is indispensable, bigger or more important than the choreography he/she is part of. When that's the case, it's usually the result of a lacking choreography.
Don’t
Choreography is very much an observation process..
Pre-planing gets in the way of observation.
Don’t Plan.
Movements
I think dance movements are no different than washing dishes movements. Both are as meaningful. both can be executed amazingly well or poorly.
it is only the context that paints them differently.
STFU and work
We (the audience), don't give a fuck about how you (the dancer/maker) are feeling, or what you're going through. Just do your work. Premeditated, deliberate self expression, is the lowest form of art making. The highest, is being in service of the artistic process.
Letter to a panicking friend
Letter to a panicking friend,
It takes time until it starts looking like something. Don't let the way it looks in the beginning frighten you.
Keep generating as much material as possible as well as compositional ideas, tools and strategies. Don't give notes to what you see and try to delay having an opinion about the outcome as long as you can.
Give the dancers tasks that allow you to sit and watch and do nothing for long periods. Look without trying to find the answer. just look. then, you will notice immediately the few interesting things that are happening.
Don't think of the time you have - I know its hard, but you have to work as if you have one year to do it.
Trust the dancers and what they do instinctively.
Until the very end, dont give any corrections about movement to anyone. You can do that in the end if necesary.
Try to spot what are the new things they offer you, stuff you don’t know, even if its very different from what you are used to or what you expected.
Don't be afraid to do things you already did and use ideas you already used somewhere else - this is usually the best place to start. it will anyway change a lot during the process so you dont have to worry about repeating yourself. it often looks like a stupid school thingy at the beginning. If you stay calm and make room for the dancers, it will morph into something else very fast.
And remember, it's a game:)
Accents/stops
Dancers like to accent movements. All the movements. All the time. (not to mention insert significant stops every two movements...)
You have nothing more counterproductive than accents and stops over-used or misused. On the other hand, there's nothing that makes a dance phrase clearer and more charged with meaning than these two when used effectively.
Either or
Choreography is either a tool of separation, or connectedness. It is either inclusive, or exclusive.
Dude, it’s not about the movements I tell you!
It's never about the mouvements. It is a terrible reduction of what choreography can be, to make this the focal point. And in any case, even dancing is not really about dancing, but mostly about commitment, attentiveness, a sense of responsibility, pleasure, loyalty and interaction.
Repeat
We always choreograph the same three questions, it’s just that we always come up with different answers.
Getting old/wise
Choreographic maturity is watching your dancers take a direction you're not comfortable with, and say nothing.
Tasks
The most urgent task contemporary dance should embrace today, is the emancipation of the dancer through allowing her/him to become a fully independent, active and aware choreographic thinker/practitioner.
Chill
You don't MAKE choreography, choreography HAPPENS.
Come together
Individual actions that don't come together in a way which renders them parts of a system, are a waste of choreographic time.
Context
Context is everything.
Making room
I'm not in the business of telling people what to do, I rather make room for people. Room for them to do their thing. Now making room, effective room, one that frees them while giving them a safe and coherent context, is a very subtle and complex endeavor. In a way, it's what I think choreography means, making room for dancers.
Virtuosity
The definition of virtuosity, depends on the context you're placing it in and the system it is serving.
Balance
Dancing is constantly looking for the right balance between reacting and acting. Listening and talking.
Gardening
My choreography is about the process of continuously nourishing fields of possibilities, and then waiting to see what happens.
