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MM (1/27/09)
I love that your entry into our rehearsal space was so hardcore. Bringing all your equipment. What you did was stronger than words - dedication, interest, willingness to co-create and contribute to an artistic vision. I am looking forward to this exchange. And while I know it will be still hard for me to let go of the music, I am really delighted that the soundscape for this work is going to more closely reflect a true house set and have moments of unpredictability (and which hopefully will keep the act of performance fresh and pleasurable). Also, this way I can concentrate more closely on the content & staging of the piece. So, thank you for adding your presence to this mix!

MM (2/23/09)
Once we got the table facing us and we could connect performer to DJ, I think things got going quite well. Definitely, think we need to stay focused on that kinetic/visual link between dancer & DJ. I am looking forward to getting material set more quickly so that we have time to play. As a choreographer, I relish changes in movement quality and watching you try different tracks with Karina & Mark and paying attention to how musical shifts effected their execution was great. I think as the dancers and you become more comfortable with each other and as we collectively develop a language, other creative spaces will open up in performance. I also look forward to your own commentary as an artistic collaborator. I would love to hear if/when themes/thoughts/feelings are sparked by relating musically to the movement.

On another note, I had a couple of strange moments during rehearsal - you played two tracks I know as home anthem songs - Is it All Over My Face? and another I can't recall at the moment. Hearing those tracks in the studio and in the company of a group of younger dancers who don't carry the same meaning/attachment to those tracks made for a self-reflexive experience - witnessing myself in a home memory while being very aware of my own generational difference.

I am also looking forward to working in the cave. Smaller, more intimate. We'll see what happens.

MM (3/10/09)
I am thinking about last Sunday’s rehearsal working on Lindsay’s “Comfort” solo. I had been playing with the idea of Deneice Williams’ song “Free” as representative of the new sonic accompaniment I wanted to support the piece.

NOTE: I like the whole performed monologue about "freeing up" that's in the live version, but this is not that version.


Something about the sentiment of letting go, of the work one has to do to let go and of the peace, or comfort, that is gained when we can let go and enter a state of “just being” is sitting with me.

I’m caught on this idea about achieving a comfort zone between the ideas vested in the movement/movement qualities; Lindsay’s comfort as a performer (with the music, the movement and its execution); and the music that supports, pushes and dialogues with the performance and the performer.

The two tracks that Micah found his way to (I know one is by Grace Jones, the other ?) each fit the piece in contrasting ways. The Grace Jones tune has this kind of understated cosmopolitan chic about it – whatever Lindsay is holding onto (as in not free of) is held here. It’s disco, it’s like a spaced out black ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” yet Lindsay’s earthiness meshes with it in a way that retains (for me) the kind of carefree muse image from the original trio version of this section.

The shift to the second track (which I hope we can time out to come in sooner) opens up into this bittersweet-still freeing up-singsong sensation. Whatever Lindsay was holding onto in the first half ought to let go here – the music helps push that shift. There's something too about this track that makes me think of house's multicultural leanings. The second track sounds a little Beatles / White Album to me, and definitely it's something I could see incorporated into a Chicago-style house set.

I've included the rehearsal footage here, because I wonder what being able to review a visual map of the performance/music will make Micah think about as a DJ.

On a side note, working with Micah is triggering more memories about deejays and house as social performance. Made me think about having respect for the DJ’s archive, about how we didn’t use to think to ask about the names and artists of tracks, how we liked to be surprised by and felt a certain confidence in a DJ’s abilities to take us where we wanted to go sonically.



isislady
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micaheli 3/8 Rehearsal - 3rd time with the group 0 Mar 10 2009, 12:55 PM EDT by micaheli
Thread started: Mar 10 2009, 12:55 PM EDT  Watch
Sunday was nice because we were able to work with things we had already heard as opposed to starting from scratch. Lindsey is still stuck in the choreography at this point, which is to be expected, and less free to respond and react to sounds that I'm pushing her to work with, the Aeroplane mix of Grace Jones' "William's Blood" and the Beatfanatic mix of José Gonzalez' "Killing For Love."

I agree that "Killing" needs to fade in sooner. I'm hoping to get it to where the disco twirl ends with a drop of the piano line that we like so much. Gonzalez is a Swedish/Argentine folk singer who's voice goes right to the heart of that Balearic House style that I associate with Ibiza chillout compilations - though its far more evocative than most of the mix cd fodder. The feeling I'm trying to create here is like you say Meida, cosmopolitan, confident and a bit guarded, opening up to let the guard down with the piano line.

For Starchildren the transition worked pretty easily between "God Is Good" and "Can I Get a Witness" when Michelle started her solo in the cypher. This is going to be the church section : )

The family portrait looks like its coming together nicely and I can't wait to see how it works when that breaks free into the various machine-like movements.

Micah
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micaheli Second Rehearsal 0 Feb 22 2009, 4:22 PM EST by micaheli
Thread started: Feb 22 2009, 4:22 PM EST  Watch
Today's rehearsal felt less frantic for me. Without the headache of dealing with the burden of the full kit, I was able to listen, watch, reflect and begin to communicate with the dancers and with our choreographer. I loved seeing the noticable difference in the gestures and attitude during "Queen" when we switched from the more even-keeled track "Moan (Trentmøller Remix)" to "Cardiology (Isolee Remix)." Katrina and Mark were able to nail the head tilts and the kicks with a hard up-beat in place and it made them more, well, fierce. I think that's appropriate vernac for this venue : )

I was glad to get a hang of the piece of "Fly" as well. I have a better grasp on my repertoire and my practice equipment, though I'd like to keep the full turntables in the mix for tech/dress and performances. I look forward to playing in more club-like spaces such as Black Rep, where the lights and system will further facilitate the ferocity of the choreography.

Next week in "the cave."

Micah
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micaheli First Try 0 Feb 3 2009, 3:57 PM EST by micaheli
Thread started: Feb 3 2009, 3:57 PM EST  Watch
Meida, I felt good about our first steps the other day. I think as the choreography settles, and I'm able to respond better to their changes, and also the vibe you want to create, I'll feel more comfortable. Also, I don't need to bring that whole PA, just my turntables which I can plug into the house system (saves us all a lot of shlepping). I am also kicking myself for not having my disco cache (the one we listened to together) loaded on my DJing computer. That bounty, once loaded - and that can happen before next rehearsal - will enable me to really work in that Alicia Myers vein. Looking forward to the next leg of this!
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