They are just arms.

A couple weekends ago, I participated in a performance directed by Melissa Watt, called Body, where I held my arms out in the air for twenty minutes. Like this:

Yeah, that was hard, but not as hard as you might imagine. During the performance, I realized that the task of keeping my arms in the air wasn't the struggle. The struggle was dealing with all the emotions that I attached to my arms. I remember a moment thinking: "I've got to keep my arms up! What will happen if I put them down?"

Guess what? Nothing happens when you put your arms down. They are just arms-- just some muscles, bones, blood, and energy. Everything else is just stuff I attached to them--fear, vulnerability, failure, etc.

Noticing that I was the one making it all a big deal, I stopped and focused on my arms. They were hot, shaky, and tired. So, I bent my elbows, wiggled my fingers, and just kept them up. (They weren't even sore the next day!)

Feeling up for the challenge? Give it a whirl. Keep em' up or put em' down....it doesn't matter, because in the end they are just arms.

Ghost Ideas

I'm in the process of gathering some quotes that circulate during the holiday season in America (for my new project) and stumbled across this quote by Charles Dickens. It pretty much sums up what I need to do with this blog.

An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.

On making...

I've been thinking about starting another blog, generally about making things, but I do not need another blog to try and keep up with. Instead, I'll share some thoughts about MAKING  that I find relevant to dance, but even more so, relevant to life.

I like the word make better than create. To make something is to dig in, get yourself dirty,  and figure it out. It could be a pot of soup, the lyric to a song, the bow on a present....really, anything!

I love making something from nothing and I tend to do this in two ways: dancing and baking.

When choreographing, directing a project, or just improvising, this is exactly what I do. I make movement from nothing. There is no pattern, no stencils, no how-to book. It is just me. Of course I get ideas from lots of outside sources: media, music, nature, people, dogs, etc. But in the end it's just me, my body, and my brain. I have to dig in, get sweaty, and figure it out. How awesome.

If I wasn't a dancer, I would totally be a baker. But even more than a recipe connoisseur, I would be a baking inventor. I LOVE to put a bunch of ingredients in a bowl -- some powdered, some liquid, some fizzy, some slimy -- and somehow end up with something warm, golden, and smelling delicious. It's magic.

What do you make from nothing?

Do you open your refrigerator and somehow manage to come up with a great meal from that wilted lettuce, mayonnaise, and can of beets? I love that!

For some people, this process of making something from nothing can seem effortless. (Admit it, they kind of piss you off, don't they?) But, I truly believe everyone has the power to make. So, go try it. Get a little messy, have some fun, and figure it out.

Bring on the plaid.

Photo by Jesse Scroggins

The winds have changed...I'm working on a new idea. (Don't worry, my solo is not dead...just being re purposed) I want to start making a dance exploring the bucolic imagery that fills American media during the holiday season. The final product will be presented in the late Fall, 2011.

So, why am I doing this?

Well, the truth is, I am a little obsessed with holiday imagery. Advertisements taunt me with their perfectly wrapped gifts and table settings right out of Martha Stewart's home. What's odd is,  they don't even match my sense of design; I like mismatching prints, burnt wood, and kitsch. Perhaps it's not the design that entices me, but the sense of wonder it brings out in me. What would it be like to live in that image? What would it feel like?

As I look at holiday catalogs, l am fully aware that all of these photo shoots have been systematically  arranged to entice the ideal consumer, namely me. The delicate dinner arrangements have been sprayed with hairspray, dusted with glitter, and photoshopped to look better than food for the Gods. How could this facade translate to a dance? For starters, I think it would be interesting to expose all the things that make these images look so good: the lighting, the coiffing, the glitter, etc. It would be like seeing the "behind the scenes" footage as the actual performance.

So, here we go.  If you've ever wondered how your life would change if it were cloaked in flannel, this is the time. Bring on the plaid.

Catching Up

Well, crap, it's October...the end of October. What have I been doing, you ask? This:

Photo by Jordan Fuch

 I went to the Texas Dance Improvisation Festival in Houston. What a treat! Fantastic teachers, hosts, and fellow dancers to play with. Thank you Rice University, Leslie Scates, and Rosie Trump for hosting this great event!






I started learning a new solo by Melissa Bijork. It's good to be learning movement....I was feeling a little to insular for awhile. Here's some snipets:

We registered the Big Rig Dance Collective  name in Denton County, TX. (I'm a Co-Director)

I presented my paper, Sourcing, Creating, and Sharing: A Method for Creating Site Specific Performances, at the National Dance Educators Conference (NDEO) in Tempe, AZ. Met some great people, including Jane Hawley. Check out what she's doing at Luther College.

I'm collecting some footage for my solo project, which will include a film component. Working title: Contemplating the End. (Thanks to Jhon Stronks for the title)

A little more on this Contemplating the End business...

Sound's morbid, right? Well, that's not what I'm going for. Actually, I want to craft this project by using a lot of beginnings. I tend to have a lot of ideas for the start of a projects, so I thought...What would happen if I strung all these beginnings together? What would it turn into?

The first beginning was the creation of a phrase. You can see that in my older posts below.

My current beginning is this:

I had this idea of layering dancing footage with non-dancing footage. I'm interested in all the movement we do on a regular basis that might not be considered dance, and how it could be composed in a way that looks or feels like dance. Right now I have treadmill running and cycling. Here's a bit of cycling from my handlebars' perspective:

Well, I think that catches us up. Glad you're still here...sorry I took so long.
-Lily

Flash Mob turns Dance Film

Last week, I was at Columbia College in SC doing a residency at the dance department. We did a flash mob, then turned the wonky footage into a dance film. The students did all the hands-on editing....I was there to support them. Here's what we made!

PS- I am still accepting ACTIONS and BODY PARTS. They will be sting together in rehearsal this week.

-Lily

Gimme some of your moves!

This week's rehearsal was hard....yes, physically hard, but more so mentally/emotionally hard.

I'm feeling stuck. I can't seem to remember movement material after improvising.

So, I would like to ask for YOUR help.

Below in the comments area, please submit an ACTION (throw, jump, drop, roll, etc.) and SPECIFIC BODY PART (right elbow, left knee, upper right scapula, etc.). I am going to compile these actions/body parts into a movement phrase for next week.

See ya!
-Lily