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During the second year of SWW creative process I experimented briefly with the simple idea of moving back and forth between the floor and standing. I was interested in sustaining that idea throughout a dance as opposed to beginning the dance at one level and ending it at the other. I was interested in the early experiments but never settled on either a movement vocabulary, quality, dynamic or musical world. Two years later, for the penultimate dance in the SWW series, these ideas came back.
Studio trials 1 to 3 show stages in the refinement of the opening of the dance, changing from static to fluid, and from beginning sinking to beginning on the floor. I chose this last option after a conversation with SWW Musical Advisor Allan Bell in which we reflected on the expressive implications of the opening.
Studio trials 4 to 6 show stages in the refinement of the closing, at first staying low, then trying something in-between levels but undefined, then finally opting for an unexpected moment of near symmetry arising from the fluidity that dominated the dance.
One work I had in mind for SWW 19 was Karen Tanaka’s Water and Stone (1999). In her program note on the website WiseMusicClassical she describes the work as suggesting “various reflections of light when water flows over different colour stones, and also various phases of water itself.” I credit Tanaka’s work with introducing the fluid water element which dominates SWW 19. The other music that in my mind was a selection by Bill Horist who had composed for and performed in my work Dream Pavilion (2014). While both pieces of music have an expansive affect and make use of drone-like textures, it was Horist’s Dream Pavilion, that also provided a strong element of tension in the use of electric guitar, Dan Ngyuet, wood block and shaker. Alternating the contrasting qualities in the dance and music helped to knit the work together.
The challenge of this piece was the desire to have a visual of the garment pooling around Davida on the ground. First, we needed to see how much volume on a pant was controllable and also gave the dramatic watery feelings. In a prototype test there was an iteration with slits and one with extra triangle inserts to make even more volume. In the end though both brought their own issues that reverted us back to a simple yet structured design with a few symmetrical pleats that were sewn down on the hips to create more form. However, even though the idea of slits was not productive on the pants a slit in the shirt sleeve proved effective and brought with it its own contribution to the movement. With the piece having a heavy water influence silk was the fabric choice for its flow but also for its effect to when rippling over the body feel like wet fabric. Dying the silk to our muddled blues/greens/violets was a process of ice dying and giving control to the melting of that to produce a very organic effect of blending. The feeling of having Davida enveloped in this “liquid”, as if the costume was coated in it brought on the idea of closures with matching fabric buttons as if a sculpture out of water.
Hannah Fisher
0 – 1’29 – very slow establishing of under texture/drive
1’30 – 3’10 – First voice Dan Ngyuet
Texture drive
3’40 Second voice Drum
4’00 – 4’28 Third voice buzz guitar 1
Texture drive
4’51 – 5’16 buzz guitar 2
5’15 – 5’45 buzz guitar 3
5’52 – 6’18 buzz guitar 4
6’19 – 7’03 Fourth voice wood block
buzz guitar 5
7’06 – 8’00 buzz guitar 6
7’30 –’40 tenor arpeggios
Texture drive
8’09 – 8’45 buzz guitar 7
8’46 – 9’18 Fifth voice bells
9’18 Sixth voice shaker
9’39 – 9’53 w Fourth voice wood block
9’54 – 9’59 Sixth voice shaker
