Songs Without Words 6
sww6 - screenshot of text

Studio trials 6-1

SWW Video Archive  April 13, 2021

Having begun by making a list of qualities and vocabularies not yet fully explored and working with those for several rehearsals I have found that actually quite of bit of it is gone from interest now and that I have committed to the Cricket Voice piece.

Possible cricket reviews: March 17, 31, June 9, June 10 also May 22 last piece

I conducted an extensive review of Cricket Voice Vocabulary from research period last year

Reviewing last runs on April 1, 2020 for vocabulary

Watching cricket movements

Noting score shifts

Studio trials 6-2

SWW Video Archive April 26, 2021

SWW6

Today to review Helen’s comments, to get clearer on the music

  • in the opening to OUTER SPACE, and listening for WAVE with CV to initiate change of facing in hunker
  • in the amount of time to pull up wrist cross lean left w retires and the backing up. From about MORSE CODE A  2’23 to entry of SLAPPING B 3’59 and 
  • then taking up to 5’10 CHIRRUPPING for closed lunger series (1’10))

then working Helen’s notes all the way through to ending

also try little shimmers in the opening…very small quivers

NEW ENDING – try AGB suggestion of going up instead of down……

Also AGB space note….stay closer to ds in general

sww6 - screenshot of studio trials 2

Studio trials 6-3

SWW Video Archive May 4, 2021

with HELEN!

SWW 6- cricket

forearm rotation in opening is nice 

wrist hits…try the calling out to fellows..a calling…an image to work with

frog tongue out and in .., full the edges with speed with elbows in opening

in face clearing- add try some holds…and variety of focuses…hands not too bsuy and work phrasing of material so that here little holds,  a little bit of tension in the form

diving over to begin melodic, should have an accent, change focus up to down to lead arms to floor for plank walk

languid arms….backwards lean….count 8s from drone

drop down to right knee – pause on arrival with hands back…work  up to speed, left leg foldings at least 3 or 4 …explore

rubbing – try contracting the spine occasionally to anticipate the place of scratching and this leads well into small side gestures.

on small gestures…sharp right knee….at development point shift pelvis and legs to flat front from the dsr diagonal to change feeling and foot work…. try for accents up or down with both hands in travelling side to side, could follow each other

ending….leave the ground more…try .,,,hands extend, extend 2x quick, two quick jumps, one jump, hands

Studio trials 6-3

SWW Video Archive May 4, 2021

with HELEN!

SWW 6- cricket

forearm rotation in opening is nice 

wrist hits…try the calling out to fellows..a calling…an image to work with

frog tongue out and in .., full the edges with speed with elbows in opening

in face clearing- add try some holds…and variety of focuses…hands not too bsuy and work phrasing of material so that here little holds,  a little bit of tension in the form

diving over to begin melodic, should have an accent, change focus up to down to lead arms to floor for plank walk

languid arms….backwards lean….count 8s from drone

drop down to right knee – pause on arrival with hands back…work  up to speed, left leg foldings at least 3 or 4 …explore

rubbing – try contracting the spine occasionally to anticipate the place of scratching and this leads well into small side gestures.

on small gestures…sharp right knee….at development point shift pelvis and legs to flat front from the dsr diagonal to change feeling and foot work…. try for accents up or down with both hands in travelling side to side, could follow each other

ending….leave the ground more…try .,,,hands extend, extend 2x quick, two quick jumps, one jump, hands

Music

For this solo I choose the music first.  Cricket Voice by Hildegard Westerkamp is a much-admired work in the electro-acoustic genre. I was familiar with it long prior to the inception of Songs Without Words, and students in my choreography classes at the University of Calgary made danceworks with this mesmerizing score.  During the initial research phase of SWW I made special note of the freedom I experienced when improvising with Cricket Voice. The movement vocabulary parallels the composer’s study of cricket and picks up on a suggestion that Kazuo Ohno often made to his workshop students… study insect movement.  The score is distinct, immersive, organic and layered.  It’s intensity drew me deeply into pure exploration – imagery, action, mimesis.  Listening is an especially active part of the performance of this dance.

sww6 studio trial photos

Notes:

Sink deeply into the quality of movement.  To find another mind, way, consciousness, being.

I saw how important it was to bring attention to and support the transformational qualities and images that evolved within each rehearsal. I worked to help refine the actions and movement expressions so that the image would be more alive; and then, to help the image transform and transcend itself. For example, in a section of the work the performer uses the hips to make quick switches of directions, which created an asymmetry in the body that stood out to me as intriguing, yet unclear. With some coaching, the performer discovered that the balls of the feet pushing through the floor instigated clearer attack in the hip shifts and more oppositional / diagonal pull of the torso, taking the head off centre. This attack and accented asymmetry facilitated the apparent transcendence of the familiar human form. Also, the use of stillness and waiting for the next true impulse gave way to more fulfillment in the performers’ present actions, reminding us of the ‘rule’ less is always more. Overall I worked to help draw out the essential ambiguity: Is this a human, or an insect? Is this worldly or otherworldly? Is this the trickster or the shaman? For me, the magic of this work is in the transformational unfolding, the evocation of images, and the deep connection to the wisdom of the natural world.

Helen Husak

For this piece Davida shared music and images of crickets. I investigated cricket anatomy and body structure and did a rough concept sketch and explained that I would like to try using the idea of Bojagi – Korean patchwork using translucent fabric in colours of bronze, gold and nude to create the costume. 

The seaming would help with creating structure and give an angular, architectural feel to the final result. We discussed the idea of an exoskeleton with the dancer inside where you get a sense of the body within a body. Casing, exoskeleton, transparency, translucency, delicacy were all themes to explore. Bronze, gold, beige and nude tones with shimmer was the palette Bojagi patchwork samples in organza. Because the organza fabric had very little give I created a muslin mockup to try in rehearsal to determine the shape and size of the final costume. I created a nude stretch base for both the top and the pant and anchored the organza layer to this after assembling all the pieces. 

Angela Dale

Website: www.fabricadabra.ca
Email: angela@fabricadabra.ca

Instagram: @fabricadabracreations

Hashtag: #fabricadabracreations

My thinking about each of the pieces for songs without words was to be very conscious of providing distinct visual looks for each one. While viewing rehearsal videos I made notes of how I visually see each piece in my mind. I then considered how I can place and use the lights to recreate those looks in the theatre. Of course once lights start coming up on the performer, things can change and evolve.

We decided to film everything against black and within a static frame without camera panning, so as to keep the focus entirely on Davida’s movement and to show how the piece travels through air.  I kept the number of lights to a minimum and used different angles and colour to provide each dance with its own distinct environment which is only visible on the dancer. It was also important to maintain the integrity of costume colour and help enhance what the costume brings to the movement and to the character.

Film lighting is not something I have a lot of experience with, but how I normally approach live performance design carried over quite well. There is more intensity and less contrast for better facial visibility, which allowed the camera settings to be much more involved in how the piece is visually presented.

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Carol Anderson - Artist/Writer/Movement Educator

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Studio trial 6-1

SWW Video Archive  April 13, 2021

Having begun by making a list of qualities and vocabularies not yet fully explored and working with those for several rehearsals I have found that actually quite of bit of it is gone from interest now and that I have committed to the Cricket Voice piece.

Possible cricket reviews: March 17, 31, June 9, June 10 also May 22 last piece

I conducted an extensive review of Cricket Voice Vocabulary from research period last year

Reviewing last runs on April 1, 2020 for vocabulary

Watching cricket movements

Noting score shifts

Committed to a sketch form process where I worked through musical sections by identifying vocabulary focuses and transitional moments without nailing down any particular exact vocabulary flow but bringing the freedom to within the transitions and concentrating on a play of phrasings and variations there and bringing the discipline to the listening and the transitional moments in the score.  Somehow this really freed me.

Wall plugs are not working properly so I had to rearrange the work space.  I need to bring a longer extension chord tomorrow.

Today I am working with sketch of April 12……in sections

Section A 0  – 2’51

  • A music – WAVE + SCRATCHING + OUTER SPACE + MORSE CODE A
  • Dsr of c, focus upstage, body stretch sr to sl, wide stance,  (April 1 – 2 / 2’25) low, 
  • wing backs from video of crickets, 
  • then hand fingertips together touching body tentatively, elbows high, asymmetrical positions, 
  • alternating arm actions from quick to slow, to stillness, from wrist, to elbow, to shoulder
  • sliding mostly on thighs & body too and poky elbow points 
  • adding quick changes of focus 
  • moving thru to wrist side slides up to narrow standing
  • shift quickly to narrow stance, immediately sinking to low lunge

Video trial A 1  from ‘0- impressions: got lost in the music stopped too soon…but the pace of the opening works, and so does the placement of the body….try again, wrist taps a nice variation, 3 wing backs before turning is good, spinal expression should be very slow …..quick focus change…maybe just once or not at all? Save quick for step to narrow to lunge to wide

Video trial A 2 from ‘0 – impressions: the timing worked as planned through A, B, arriving at C in closed lunge of original opening position – again – confirmation of opening shape and action,  keep second wing back tentative to start, ie don’t develop too soon, scratching (1.48) is a good musical target for wrist tap developments, make sense of connection to legs, ie. go back and forth between fingertip leg tapping and other themes, hunker is a good body, outer space (2’12) a good musical target for stretching finger slides ensemble & wrist/elbow shoulder combos, seem to get a bit repetitious ….spread the ideas out more and go deeper into each one, don’t try to anticipate slapping, just following it in…

Video trial A 3 from ‘0  directions: try once more before going on…try for leaning upper body away from first narrow stance, and for sliding leg up to go to lunge, and in and up again to go to back travel prep, in the prep bring arms in with character. – impressions – some consistency on the timing…. forgot face clearing,. got too far ahead in vocab…too soon on left knee down and therefore stood up from original too soon, …heard the chirruping (5’30) should still be down

Video trial A 4 from ‘0 – last A for today….try in morse code A some of the spinal slow to quick shifts in prep to Slapping for travel back – impression….next trials should be at different starting points as I am getting ahead of the ideal? Or at least of the plan….

Video trial C 1 from 3’59 –   in the above trials as I ran forward I obviously ate this material much too quickly – note chirruping at 5’30 might be a good target for face clearing….it winds down nicely for beginning of melodic ostinato 5’56 and left knee down …impression = stopped just as I began tentative legs about ’30 too early. …..at the top of this material try more focus awareness as the piece has now moved to a new section and I think we need to see the face, arms high, shoulders, neck side and top head is good variation on opening…..squat is the best place, saving knee down for opening into next material, pulling antennae, started the melodic ostinato at the right place…but ….need back down and forward perhaps off centre too….for a 1’30… @ 15 seconds clear pulse before switch to melodic ostinato and left knee down body over

Video trial C 2 from 3’59 – try to pick up some of the music cues and movement refinements from previous – better timing – stopped with ’30 to build tentative legs to TWANG so pretty okay for timing….lunge switching is good brings new energy to this idea, I should switch legs and dig deeper into the idea of upper body with it, also allow the back leg to come straight through and forward once….I don’t think finger slide pulls work here, but waiting for the chirruping to clear face is good..back over is good but I don’t think this should be an abrupt shift, secondly, with the back over I think I can shift knees to more interesting effect, face clearing inside circular joint arms with pause works well,,so perhaps this is a smooth progression from face clearing to back over,knee switiching, circular arms must start lower and take time to rise through frontal plane,  7’15-  40 pulses good target for repeated gesture standing up

Studio trial 6-2

SWW Video Archive April 26, 2021

SWW6

Today to review Helen’s comments, to get clearer on the music

  • in the opening to OUTER SPACE, and listening for WAVE with CV to initiate change of facing in hunker
  • in the amount of time to pull up wrist cross lean left w retires and the backing up. From about MORSE CODE A  2’23 to entry of SLAPPING B 3’59 and 
  • then taking up to 5’10 CHIRRUPPING for closed lunger series (1’10))

then working Helen’s notes all the way through to ending

also try little shimmers in the opening…very small quivers

NEW ENDING – try AGB suggestion of going up instead of down……

Also AGB space note….stay closer to ds in general

1. Full run with Helen’s notes, AGB notes and new ending idea.

Impression — took much more time in the beginning and was able to keep that sense of pace throughout….the only places where I felt rushed…wrist tapping with SCRATCHING but this alignment can change…..gather to long circular arms, right knee w left slides, and maybe into last image, although it might work best that way…..from what I know of the music I felt that I was following it cue wise, but dancing into it present time wise.  Think I remembered Helen’s notes, squeezed the space for AGB

First Viewing – I think the opening in light quiver  or slightly busy hands is a good idea – notice that the last lift was on the WAVE w CV at 136 which gives me 10 seconds before SCRATCHING and I think I should use this alignment but then move with forearm balancing quite directly to finger tip touch, hunker and right hand vibrate so that I can take time for wrist tapping,  did antennae action on MORSE CODE…thoughtful travel back, better space placement, better timing with music… don’t mind the little adjustments to ground the lunges, keeping face front on clearings is good, didn’t get my focus out on plank…do it as I walk out….make plank almost directly sr so lowness and ds leg action are visible…need to be closer on second plank so I can suck lower body in..on right knee down was exactly on 40 WHIRLY PULSES  felt a little rushed but then thought of the right knee down place as prep for gather left foot in with left in and out extension hands – , on rubbing held focus forward until last tiny actions which then seemed to bring in the TWANG – in TWANG,  bring body up sooner, explore a bit more up and down in the side range, hold pelvis still and work more ribs, on pirouette make sure the hands are forward up and visible, on arrival at ds position flow directly..ie don’t stop to anchor just go through to pelvis hands etc, second travel back could be more directly, once the lunge is established go smoothly and directly into finger thumb hunker antennae, on ending try little soft demi plier bounce double foot hops

Cricket Voice – Hildegard Westerkamp - Listening Guide.3

 ‘0  WAVE (1’46)

’04  low ostinato

’08 waves

’11 – ‘27  higher note ostinato & fade

’35 – ‘43 return higher ostinato with 12 note melody

’52 real time CV with ½ time low ostinato

1’06 – 1’36  very low tone ostinato

1’36 WAVE with CV—————————————————————————————

1’48 – 2’07 SCRATCHING ( ’19) back and forth ——————————————————–

2’12 OUTER SPACE (’10) treble drone with low tone ostinato———————————-

2’20 higher treble drone

2’23 – 2’32  rapid MORSE CODE A  (’29) short bursts, in ostinato, fading, crescendo drone—-

2’51 SLAPPING A (3’00) ostinato with low and high drones——————————————

3’11 drones foreground

3’18 slapping ostinato foreground

3’37 arising CV

3’41 higher drone

3’49 CV

3’59 – 4’21  return of SLAPPING B ostinato with falling and rising drone

 4’31 descending drone

4’41 two chord switching – counting pulses 5 x 8 to CHIRRUPING

5’01 slapping continues with low pulse

5’06 slapping foreground

5’10   CHIRRUPING 

5’28 slapping fade

5’30 CHIRUPPING (’26) with CV—————————————————————————

5’34 growling and chirruping, to chirruping alone (’22)

5’56 MELODIC (1’20) ostinato—————————————————————————–

6’12 rolling ball 

6’32  – 6’50 melodic with foreground pulse (8 x 7 to 7’15), CV

6’48 – 7’15 drone crescendo under pulse (4 x 8  to 7’15) CV, rolling ball, CHIRUPPING

7’15 – 7’31 40  WHIRLY PULSES foreground medium tone  (down to right knee0  

7’29 – 7’41 WHIRLIGIG (’51) chord, high whirligig, falling & rising, w pulse————————–

7’56  – 8’44 MASS (’44) pulse with CV, with background 3 repetitions of swell, foregrounding,  crescendo, diminuendo_—————————————————

8’44 – TWANG ( 1’15)————————————————————————————————–

8’56 twang with voice

9’00 twang continues to 

9’34 – MORSE CODE B  (1’11) with TWANG———————————————————————-

9’56 TWANG fades

10’02 background morse code weaving through a xlow crescendo  10’28 – 10’40  and a slow diminuendo 

10’45  Morse code fades——————————————————————————————–

10’47 – 10’53 CV

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