Musicality, is by far the most revealing aspect of dancing, dance and choreography
Actually….
Changing ones mind, about everything, is an indispensable part of the artistic process. In a way, it is what learning and creating are made of. A long série of new realizations, altered perceptions, letting go of old convictions and the welcoming of new ones. The artistic process is somehow more about these constant shifts, than it is about establishing permanent truths. It is linked to the fact that the artistic process is an on going questioning act, rather than one aimed at finding answers.
What ‘works’ at any given moment, is dynamic, elusive and ever changing, deeply influenced by the context the work is being made in, and if one isn’t able to change his mind in relations to that simple question, what actually ‘works’?, the artistic process will stagnate and eventually die.
The big picture
The quality of a choreographic work, or any work of art for that matter, can’t be solely examined in relations to one specific piece. It has to be viewed in close link with one fundamental question - does the work bares potential for a future development of an original and effective artistic process?
Some pieces, when examined separately from their potential to produce that coherent future process, might be considered as good work, but if they lack the ability to generate and be part of a larger, genuine process, they remain no more than punctual anecdotes. Lucky artistic strikes.
Lego
Choreography, just like Lego, is about assembling things, not really the things themselves. the entire point is the house/car/spaceship/tree you’re building, not the blocks.
The blocks though, have to be well thought of in order to allow the aesmblage process to happen.
if you’re a choreographer, you should be concerned with making pasta, not growing tomatoes or pressing olive oil!
Step back and see
I don't creat pieces, I create an ever evolving choreographic system. The separate works, are therefore momentary glimpses at specific points along the evolution of that system.
Cause and effect
structures before effects, systems before content. The first are creative forces, the second, byproducts.
Body painting by Yifat Gat
Choreography
Choreography isn’t about the creation of content, it’s rather the process of creatively organizing content. What this content might be, how it was generated, or where it comes from, are all secondary questions.
Collectives/leaders
A collective mind will always be more creative than a single one. The process of putting together that creative collective though, can only be effective if it’s the fruit of the vision and guidance of a single mind. Synergies require guidelines. Collectives need leaders, to both assemble, and direct them.
How
It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s HOW you do it that makes it valuable art.
They know
The dancers you choose to work with, are the ones best placed to evaluate the quality of the work you make.
Technique
The highest form of technique one can expect from dancers, is acute mindfulness, clear presence and an extreme attentiveness to both intentions and actions.
All the rest, is a byproduct.
Dancers
Not every dancer should be a choreographer, but every dancer has to be able to choreograph.
Traces
Every choreography should contain clear traces of Beauty, rhythm, authority and truth.
Guidance
The most accurate guidance one can find during the choreographic process, stems from the unfolding choreography itself.
Make it personal
Making things personal, is the gateway to choreographic efficiency.
Choreography
Choreography isn’t a thing to be made, it’s a space to be opened. choreographing is the art of opening new creative spaces. Whenever a choreographer actually makes the choreogrpghy, she or he is no more than a sort of elaborate, yet self centered creative dancer.
Awareness
To dance well, is to reach a certain level of being un self-aware, in order to become fully aware of everything and everyone else, so to immerse oneself fully within the unfolding present moment.
Respect/experience
You respect the audience only as much as you respect the work.
Also,
Expirience, simply means the ability to jump over the wrong solutions, in order to get quicker to the right ones.
Ridicule
The most common gateway for makers with no clarity of content or vision, is to ridicule everything. The art form, their performers and the audience.
It has nothing to do with humor though, humor is the result of clear content and vision, while the choice to ridicule everything, is a way to mask the lack of both.
Goals
Leave dancers in a better state than the one in which you found them initially. On all levels. And all aspects.
