February 9th I am ran a triip workshop thinking about Heritage and Dance. As dancers what do we see as our dance heritage, lineage? Some dance forms feel like 'home' to individual dancers. A form of movement where there is a sense of authentic voice, where the dancer feels the technique itself paves a language they can express there inner sensations with. As a choreographer I look to find a place between the dancers movement home (their voice) and my own from which the movement and the choreographic decision making is coming from. This between space is the manifestation of the dance: a conversation with Place, time, history, present, and past in body.
I am thinking about ballet (one of the movement languages I feel a home in) and how it is made a heritage site. A heritage site my voice (as a Black Ballet dancer) is not always present in. What do the other dancers in the workshop feel about their dance 'homes' -
I am interested in thinking about using heritage as a lens to understand movement (authenticity) and/or choreography because I have been doing work with Dr. Dean Sully's and team project (Curating the City) looking at heritage sites and how to conserve them.
From conversations during a visits to site I have looked at Historic England - Principles , Policies and Guidance for determining a heritage site and conserving it.
I asked if the dancers had a 'home' technique or had thought about that and none of them had!!! I asked if they had had positive training experiences and they all had. So maybe if movement acquisition was a positive experience, all movement they acquired had the potential to be 'home'.
We set to work...
for today: And so for me choreographing is about challenging the inheritances (and/or baggage!!) and yet using that technique's understanding the body. When I am creating of the present some of that is unpicking the 'past' and some of it is learning from the 'past'. The point is that for me, it is important that the movement I create with the dancer and on my own body has the authenticity of an honest reaction to the present moment.
I am thinking about ballet (one of the movement languages I feel a home in) and how it is made a heritage site. A heritage site my voice (as a Black Ballet dancer) is not always present in. What do the other dancers in the workshop feel about their dance 'homes' -
I am interested in thinking about using heritage as a lens to understand movement (authenticity) and/or choreography because I have been doing work with Dr. Dean Sully's and team project (Curating the City) looking at heritage sites and how to conserve them.
From conversations during a visits to site I have looked at Historic England - Principles , Policies and Guidance for determining a heritage site and conserving it.
I asked if the dancers had a 'home' technique or had thought about that and none of them had!!! I asked if they had had positive training experiences and they all had. So maybe if movement acquisition was a positive experience, all movement they acquired had the potential to be 'home'.
We set to work...
for today: And so for me choreographing is about challenging the inheritances (and/or baggage!!) and yet using that technique's understanding the body. When I am creating of the present some of that is unpicking the 'past' and some of it is learning from the 'past'. The point is that for me, it is important that the movement I create with the dancer and on my own body has the authenticity of an honest reaction to the present moment.
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