We had our second rehearsal on Saturday. We worked on and finished a solo for Nathan using the ladder. Now, we didn't have a ladder for rehearsal, but more on that later in the blog! The ladder will rest on the neck of someone standing next to Nathan, creating a small space in which the solo will be performed. The idea was a little boy hiding under the stairs, afraid of the monsters outside.
Nathan being the quick study and dancer that he is, we finished five minutes and are pretty happy with it. While generating this movment, it all seemed very empty and blank. Moves without anything behind them just seemed hollow. With each run we were able to see more clearly what we wanted and were able to coach and direct Nathan about the intent behind the movement. For this solo, it wouldn't be enough to just 'do' the movement. Each movement has to have a deliberate intent behind it. Now that the general outline is set, it will be our job to continue to coach him and help him find a deeper place to perform this solo.
Here is a small video of the coaching process. At this point, we had finished the solo but were not happy with the phrasing, timing, and tempo of the choreography. Going back over each move, we fine tuned and adjusted what we had already set.
So... the ladder. Josh Larson is the NICEST person in the world and offered to help us build a ladder. After dealing with a raining day, we went to Home Depot and discussed several options. Working on the top floor balcony, with pouring rain rushing over the side of the building, we started to saw, drill, screw, and make a general mess.
After dealing with some split wood, we finally finished 95% of the ladder and tried it out. After some standing and messing around, things broke! It was so beautiful before everything crashed. Josh cut his foot (he's ok) and we have a better idea of what to try next. Hopefully, the ladder will be finished this week! We will wait to show you some of Nathan's solo until the ladder is ready and part of the dance.
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