From Fire to...? Gearing up for Philly Dance Show

Began work on Florencia’s solo last week. It is going in a direction I had not anticipated. Starting with the idea of isolating her fingers, to begin kindling a fire, I had Florencia wear a felt shirt that I happened to have brought with me. The shirt worked well as a cover. Contained within it, Florencia’s fingers were emphasized. But soon the character of the shirt became more compelling. Florencia was clearly retreating into its shell. She looked cold, as if trying to escape the wind. When she whipped her hands out, it was surprising, as if she were disturbing something, splashing water or knocking over a glass.

I soon began to play with this new tension of wrapping within the shirt versus breaking out of it. It speaks of protection versus freedom, need versus want. It speaks of warmth versus cold, but not so much about fire.

I often change my mind when I get into the studio. The look of a body in space is never the same as the look of bodies playing in a filmstrip in my mind. Reality is always different from my vision. Yet I need to go in with a vision, albeit on the verge of revision. If I don’t have some idea, some process to start with, preferably a compelling image, then I just fumble around at rehearsal. Having an idea to change gives me confidence. The work is stronger afterward.

If I had not had the idea of fire, I might not have thought of isolating the fingers with the shirt. The shirt happened to be the structure that this section needed. I capitalize on accidents as much as I can. I seem to need some sort of plan ahead of time in order to ensure the accident.

Robert Dunn used to teach about traps for creativity. I think my process is along those lines. I need to start a pattern in order to discover a useful change.