The Creator's Perspective: Week Two in the Studio

by Kate Hilliard

Week two brought about many questions. Can the spontaneity of a choreographic section be maintained when the work is being rehearsed daily? It is quite easy to stay connected to the moment while performing movement where the final situation is unknown, for example an open improv or new task. But how is it possible to create that present state of being when the choreography is concrete and the dancers know the ending before they begin to move? I am searching for ways to create complex, specific movement that requires repetition to perfect, without losing the feeling for the audience that what the performers are experiencing is fresh and new.

 

When asked to speak about living in the present, dancer Josh Rowe had this to say:

 

The glare on my toe nail.  The murmur of my friends' chatting in the other room.  The fan whirring in the bathroom.  The shoes scattered all over the floor.  The present is physical.  It is where you are right now.  It's my hands pecking away at the keyboard.  It's the nail in the wall that holds nothing.  The glasses drying in the dish rack. The diffused light emanating from the clouds through the bedroom window. It is not emotional. It's not logical. It is the simplest, unavoidable reality.  It is, now.

 

After dancing a section of choreography, he added: there is a profound emotional state that takes over when one is present. I agree with him.

A Company Member’s Point of View: First Week in the Studio

by Drew DeJesus

I am pleased to be given the opportunity to provide some insight into our process, or my feelings thereon, as I can categorically say this has been a new and exciting experience for me. My training is based in acting, with only as many movement classes taken as were offered by Stella Adler during my course at NYU; however, Ms. Hilliard has managed to establish, in the period of less than a week, a Safe Place where one's background of training is all but unimportant. All that matters is how the movement affects the reality of being, and this is something that all humans may experience, in every waking moment of their bodily existences. Through what I, in word-play, describe as Physio-situational Experimentation -- that is to say, placing One, Two, Three or more Bodies into Individually Prescribed Rules of Physical Limitation in conjunction with some Pertinent Situation -- we find ourselves creating relationships of movement and sometimes language. As these relationships are Heightened and Explored, Refined, we find little gems contained therein that shed more light on the various Themes about which the Piece is beginning to circumnavigate. I am interested to see, when in such a short time we've come so far, to what distances we may travel when the time of our collaboration nears its peak.

The Creator’s Perspective: First Week in the Studio

by Kate Hilliard

A teary goodbye, a rickety plane ride and here I am again in New York City at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting at 31 West 27th Street. It’s been two years since I last roamed these very exciting hallways. In a lot of ways Adler reminds me of NY herself, constantly bustling, steeped in tradition yet always on the verge of something new and innovative. I am thrilled to be back and I am very grateful to my new artistic team who have made the first week of process incredibly inspiring.

We began our research last Monday by talking about what we like, a fairly simple conversation and a great way of getting to know one another. It’s a lot of fun to speak with strangers about what makes them tick and it didn’t take very long for the group to shed formality and begin to talk about ideas and questions that are of great importance to them. Tricia, Josh, Drew, Adam and Lauren made it very easy for me to share my thoughts as well and we quickly began to carve out some of the core ideas that are motivating me to create this new work for five performers.

I have a lot of questions about the act of waiting. It seems that lately I’ve been in the habit of projecting into the future: I find myself constantly thinking about the end result of something that has not yet happened. I’ve been thinking about the physical and emotional state of waiting for both the inevitable and the unpredictable. What is it to live presently? A few nights ago my mom reminded me of George Land’s Theory of Transformation. Are we always in a state of growing or dying? I am moved by the image of a convex meniscus.

Meniscus, plural: menisci/meniscuses, from the Greek for "crescent", is a curve in the surface of a molecular substance and is produced in response to the surface of the container or another object. It can be either concave or convex. A convex meniscus occurs when the molecules have a stronger attraction to each other than to the container.[1] This may be seen between mercury and glass in barometers.[2] Conversely, a concave meniscus occurs when the molecules of the liquid attract those of the container. This can be seen between water and glass.

One week down, five to go! I’m very excited to be working with Laurence Gingold and this fearless team of actors.

The Inaugural MAD CCC Project

The Harold Clurman Center for New Works in Movement and Dance Theater (or MAD) inaugurated a new program this week. Through the Choreographer/Composer Collaboration (or MAD CCC) choreographer Kate Hilliard and composer Laurence Gingold will create an original movement/dance theater work to be presented July 14-16.

In the first week of the residency Ms. Hilliard met with her company of actors. The Company members include Mary Cavett, Drew DeJesus, Lauren Ferebee, Tricia Olds, Adam Roper and Josh Rowe, all of whom studied acting at the Stella Adler Studio. While all of the participating artists have training in Physical Acting and an interest in Movement Art, they do not necessarily have formal dance training.

The Brutes, a prior project of Ms. Hilliard’s was initiated by Alexandra Wells and SpringBoard Danse Montreal and developed at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Corinne Donly, an actor/writer/director was Ms. Hilliard’s co-creator on that piece (photo at left).

The Harold Clurman Center for New Works in Movement and Dance Theatre creates and presents new dance and movement theatre work. The Center aims to create work that is vital, visceral and which responds to our world and has meaning for our lives. Located in the midst of an acting school, MAD is unique in its proximity to theater and theater artists, whose primary work is focused on the word of the playwright. The movement based works presented by MAD do not deny language, but rather, consider physical work to be the essential language of the “play”. MAD gives space grants and administrative or artistic support to established, emerging and student choreographers and theater makers. MAD’s Advisory Board is comprised of Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mimi Garrard, Margie Gillis, Bill T. Jones, Yoshi Oida and Alexandra Wells.