Dress Up

It has been months since we have posted anything! Things have been so busy and only seem to get worse. We have still, however, been working very hard and can now see the end of the process. Most of the sections are done and we are just struggling to keep them reviewed and in the dancers bodies. Our goal is to have the last two group sections completed by the end of October. That will give us a couple of Thursdays in November to tie up loose ends and Saturdays we will work to put the whole dance together with transitions. It’s very exciting!

Working each Thursday and Saturday has been rewarding, wonderful, and totally exhausting. From all of our other jobs, RawMoves meets up to tire ourselves out even more. We push through and try to make as much progress as possible each rehearsal. Our dancers have been beyond tired, emotionally exhausted, and injured. It's often hard for us to push forward when these wonderful people are donating their time. It would be wonderful to give everyone the night off and take care of ourselves; however, we need to finish!

For our past shows, we have never given ourselves time to review, rework, and re-evaluate. Usually, we are finishing choreography the week before the show. If we didn’t have to do that this time around, that would make us SO happy!

Who knows, maybe this will be the last project where our dancers will have to donate all their time. We are so excited to announce that we have FINALLY been approved by the IRS as a non-profit organization. This means we can now apply for grant money and receive donations from private sponsors and foundations. It also means a lot more work for us, but we are very happy and excited.








Many new sections have been started and found their way to completion. One of our favorite sections started out with five women and three sport coats. The music is up beat and has some great rhythms, which thanks to Tosha, led to some great choreography. As is always the case, one rehearsal later our quintet became a quartet and a new dancer was added. Things at RawMoves are constantly changing. No matter how hard we try, our plans never seem to last more that 24 hours. You'd think we'd figure it out and stop planning so much, but we don't. And we keep getting frustrated by it all. People probably don't understand how much of our process is dictated by unplanned events. We can start of with a very clear idea of what we want but, soon enough, that idea is gone because of conflicts, problems, or unforeseen scheduling issues.


After working like this for years, we have learned to be very easy going and to roll with the punches. In fact, our second or third plans often end up stronger than what we started with. That certainly seemed to be the case with the new quartet. With the changes in cast and structure, we were able to find something that is creatively much more interesting than what we produced during our first rehearsal. From all the obstacles and diversions we deal with, our creative process seems benefit and has become much more fluid, open, and malleable.


We have posted two new videos on YouTube - go and take a look! Here are the links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lmy_BfakeA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udLXGTXGurw

Death

Our VERY Late Blog!

Sorry this is late! We have had a busy couple of days.

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That, and the following blog, was written almost two weeks ago! Oh my goodness, how busy we have become! I am sitting in rehearsal trying to get caught up on everything while Tosha works with Ursula. The blog is now tardy beyond all reason! While we haven't been posting, we have certainly been rehearsing. We have a lot to catch you up on! Well, here we go!
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On Thursday (that would be 6.24), we worked with Nathan and Corinne on a new section. Using a basin turned over, a man's jacket, and a bouquet of flowers we created a grave. (You can take a look at some video from it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bmvz6LRk08.

Working on this section, and Nathan's solo the previous week, we have found ourselves developing movement in a more imagistic way. Our usual level of choreographic complexity has given way to a movement vocabulary that is simple and more basic. We are finding that the movements and steps aren't the most important thing... it is how the actions are performed and the intent behind them that makes the story.

Working on 'Death' with Nathan and Corinne, we started with a movement vocabulary that was heavy and weighted. Using each other for support and impetus, the movement needed to be thick and deliberate.

Towards the end of the process, we felt that the weighted quality of the movement needed to change and we felt the need for more dynamics. Using movement that was faster, we added some fighting and asked the dancers to struggle with one another until they were tired. Tagging this onto the end of the section, we both felt that it was the right choice; however, it came out of no where.

Watching this last addition to the dance changed how we viewed everything that came before it. While the sense of heaviness and weight still seemed important, we now saw that we needed a more gradual build into the struggle and fight. Suddenly, thanks to the end, the beginning made more sense. Our next rehearsal will be our time to 'rough' things up a bit. Finding places to add that struggle and to build a sense of tension culminating in the full on struggle at the end.