In A Choreographer’s Handbook, the first sentences defining ‘facing the front’ state: “our thinking about direction is in constant negotiation with compass points and square rooms. Is there another way we could orientate ourselves in relation to the room we are in and the people who are watching?’ – and this is what I began to feel Ondrej’s class is about, especially with the walking in space and the partner exercises. I felt more aware of my movement and also the partner dance felt more exhilarating that the one yesterday. It is that feeling when something unknown and unexpected starts to become more familiar with each day passing. I look forward to see how this will develop further.  You just need to find the right balance between tactile clues and concealed perception that the partner with the closed eyes must discover, and this is acquired through trial and error and through the experience of previous days.

Trajal’s teaching style is truly absorbing to me. I like the fact that he gave us references regarding Paris is Burning – talking about how the posers deconstructed gender proving that social roles are in the end a construction, all of this possible due to the liminal space that the ball clubs offered,- and that he explained the terms used in the documentary, because now I feel I have a better understanding of them.  I also feel that my “abcd” piece we develop in Trajal’s class can be linked to the keyword I chose for today. In the book,  at some point the chapter reads: ‘If you dare to turn around and dance away from us we love to follow you,’ by theatre director Jan Ritsema; all the movements in my piece aim in a single direction, going away from the front.

 

Watching the first part of Tk, with its static elements, use of dancers’ voice and interaction with objects (the microphones they have used)  reminded me of performance art, which is an interdisciplinary art movement, however not classified as dance. And then I thought – what could be the difference between a dance piece of Trajal’s and a performance? It was also interesting how today’s class addressed issues of gender in terms of coded attitudes and preconceptions, noting that with each day the world is more concerned with gender roles and quantifying everything around us. I look forward to seeing where this is going and how I will perceive these issues at the end of the class.

After seeing Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s work next to Beyoncé’s Countdown music video you ask yourself what stealing truly means and what is the difference between it and being inspired by something. I’ll leave here an interesting book that breaks down the concept of stealing in the art world and gives examples and directions that creatives can use: Austin Kleon’s Steal Like An Artist + some main ideas in the book. If you think about it, it seems that almost every past idea of yours can be traced back to an origin and that somebody already did that before. In the first five minutes after discovering this, you start questioning your capacity to ever make something original. Then you may have a creative block for several days. But that is not the point ‘stealing’ (not the dictionary term but the meaning from Kleon’s book) is trying to make. It lays out some starting points you can begin with. It is you that need to shape that piece further because, through that process of construction and assembling, new ideas may come up to your mind. Deciding to proceed all the way to the end of the path and then going off the path at some point towards your own direction is what truly matters. And, in the end, for everything that you do, don’t forget to GIVE CREDIT.