Scottsdale EMP Residency Day 4

Day 4 was a delight.
The class knows water technique enough now that I can simply lead them through the warm up and have been able to begin introducing some of the influences of Graham technique and the value of core strength in movement. The dancers listen well and are not resistant to changing movement habits that are less efficient. It is wonderful to see 20 bodies moving through space with abandon. They have been well prepared for this work. Their director, Angela Rosenkranz, is the real thing. She understands and imparts the value of pure technique, hard work and risk!

In EMP I lead the dancers through a dance therapy session that lead them to their shadow self. The dancers went in with open minds and hearts and engaged their subconscious without resistance. The depth of their movement understanding through these experiences has been phenomenal. They are developing the ability to understand movement as language, even in the abstract, and the next next step: applying that to performance. It is exciting for me to open this door for dancers!

AND, in applying the movement from the EMP sessions to choreography, we have developed a dance that has many levels of sophistication. The dancers are abandoned in their ability to take physical and emotional risk, so the piece takes the viewer on a journey that brings the audience to the edges of their seat at times. The gestures the dancers have chosen to incorporate into the dance are poignant in their expressive depth. And most importantly, the dancers have learned how to perform them authentically, so there is no sense of "drama" even though it is dramatic.

The dancers, though sore and tired, worked really hard and we finished the dance. Almost 11 minutes long. It is the third version of "Whispers". I really love finding the direction of the path that our combined subconscious takes the dance. Each version is entirely different. It is a fascinating experience! I hope SCC will bring the dance to CA so our sudiences can experience this version as well. It's so interesting to compare them!

Off to the LAST DAY!

Scottsdale EMP Residency Day 3- Sore but Tough

Day 2 was a blur.
Water Technique at 10,
EMP at 11,
lunch until 12:30 or so
then rehearse until - 5:00.
A quick trip to buy clothing I can turn into costumes,
dinner with Angela and the company, and then
home to bleach, dye, dye again, and alter the clothing to begin the costume making process.
Not much sleep, and then do it all again!

And I'm OLD! Not to mention just had major surgery 4 months ago. But it's fun for me even though the body complains a bit. OK, it complains a lot.

The 20+ dancers here have taken very well to the absolute purity of Water Technique. Today I touched on kinesiological concepts for gaining flexibilty as well. They come with open minds and hearts, are good listeners, and value the absolution of habitual movements that distract from the body’s ability to move with ease and strength by empowering gravity… fall & recovery (thank you Doris Humphrey).

EMP seems to be a natural fit here too. The dancers present with untainted intentions. They value the opportunity to learn to dive into the deepest nuances of the ART of dance. They understand that movement that speaks to the soul through masterful technique holds an entirely different power than dance that is merely cool steps or great tricks strung together. And they want to learn how.

Using powerful and authentic moments captured through EMP, Instinct (the advanced dance company), spends the afternoon with me honing a new piece of choreography. We are resetting “Whispers, Silence, Rumors”. This is version three and represents for me the ability to dive ever deeper into a concept that has my attention: gossip. However, this version takes into consideration my recent neck surgery and the implications of neck to voice. Using the same processes that I employed to create the previous two versions, I have connected the dots by selected a few choice moments to remain the same in all three versions, but the rest is completely different as influenced by the differing personalities.

Rob Crouch, a life-friend of mine, came to watch rehearsal and brought his daughter. They made stunning observations. Rob had seen Whispers II in rehearsal in the Bay Area, so he had the insight to point out how the process honors the personalities that are involved. That the dance remains the same, but at the same time is presented with entirely different steps and the meaning changes slightly. He pointed out that it was interesting to see how it changed while retaining the power of the work.

I really love these dancers.

Through bruised skin, sore muscles and floor burns they don’t complain at all. Through dancing 6 hours at an incredible intensity, they maintain their sense of humor, cry when it’s an appropriate release, and laugh when that is more appropriate. For me, this is what being human is all about… sharing intimate intensity that enhances the lives of those we touch. Not holding back, but taking the risk to be real and understanding the incredible value that brings to all.

Two mores days to go.
So much more to do.
It's all about creating magic!

Scottsdale EMP Residency Day 1

Technique:

The students here are mostly modern trained movers, which makes teaching them what I call "water technique" amazingly easy. In one hour we covered what could have taken two days.. understanding the theory of fall & recovery (Doris Humphrey) and release technique.

EMP:
Then we spent the second hour working with EMP... eyes closed following open-ended imagery to inform the movement choices. This is an amazing process. Much like Dance Therapy and Authentic Movement, EMP begins with a leader who guides the group (or individual) through familiarizing themselves with eyes-closed movement. It is a difficult task because culturally we are such a visually oriented society. When one closed their eyes, suddenly the environment is frightening, unfamiliar and feels unsafe. Additionally, eyes closed moving in a group of people -even just walking around- means that their will be accidental touches that occur. An additional source of discomfort. This group, however, was open-minded and brave. They embraced the opportunity to dive into a new way of learning about movement, took risks, and were generous with their energy. Their reactions to movement ran the typical gamut of emotions from fear to relief, from a desire to connect with another, to a desire to remain apart. This group is open-minded, great listeners with a body-self familiarity that exists less when dancers are trained in specific techniques only. For example, ballet trained dancers can be absolute and amazing masters of the ballet technique and yet, in an environment where they are free move in any manner, the lack of form reveals a dancer who has not developed self-confidence as a mover outside of the movement of ballet.

These dancers moved so quickly through "water technique" and embraced EMP full-heartedly.

Choreography for the Company:

After the workshop I rehearsed with the company. These dancers are fearless risk takers (which I LOVE). They understand their body to the point where they can take "safe" physical risks, and they have enough confidence as performers to dive into the emotional risk. This didn't take place without the laughter that reveals discomfort. Sometimes the exercises would hit a nerve and the discomfort would show it's head, but the dancers moved through it and the dance we are setting showcases their strength as performers, as well as dancers!

I have begun setting a new version of the dance "Whispers, Silence, Rumors". This version will have it's own title as it is exploring a different angle, but it is performed to the same music as the two previous versions of the dance.

The dancers are employing the same process as the two previous versions... calling on their own inner resources to explore movements that come from subconsciously guided decision making. An example of this is one section of the dance that explores movement that entangle the dancers bodies, swooping in and out of each other's way, in an intricate timing that, if missed, could lead to the slamming of bodies together in manners that are not advised! With this direction, three couples have created their own choreographic phrases that interlock, the intersection of which creates a backdrop of chaotic humanity that is as of yet without interpretation. Within the next week we will fill in the movement blanks to finish the dance under the guidance of decision making that engages the subconscious. The end of this process will reveal a dance that will have meaning which will be revealed to us in time. When the meaning is revealed, we as a group will understand something about ourselves that our subconscious has dictated for us to see at this time in our lives.

I can't wait to understand what it will be!

Scottsdale EMP Residency -the Technique class

At the beginning of each day I will teach a technique class based on the theories of Fall & Recovery as developed by Doris Humphrey. When I was a young dancer I had the opportunity to perform in the "Doris Humphrey Festival" in Tempe, Arizona. I was cast in two dances, "Water Study" and "New Dance". Though I was not consciously aware of it at the time, my experiences, especially in "Water Study," influenced the rest of my career in dance.

I was a modern dancer with ballet-as-a-second-language (so to speak). My great love was taking dance to the edges of flying on the physical plateau and to the edges of authenticity on the emotional plateau.

In order to take such physical risk I had to learn to work with, rather than against gravity.

In order to take emotional risk, I had to develop a way to work with, rather than against, fear.

Toward achieving the emotional levels of risk I developed EMP. Toward the physical levels of risk I have come to realize that although many techniques influence my performance and teaching style (including Jose Limon, Martha Graham, Alwin Nikolias, Bill Evans and others), Doris Humphrey's "Water Study" in particular gave me tools to perform, and now teach "Fall & Recovery", or as it is often called "Release Technique".

For this residency, we will dive into both!

Scottsdale EMP Residency begins

A 2-day drive to Arizona was actually a great way to relax and clear my head for the upcoming week. I am excited to work with the researchers and dancers who are interested in the mind and brain. EMP (Expressive Movement Processing), for those of you who haven't experienced it, it is a combination of my educational interests: BAE in Dance Education, masters degree in Choreography with a second emphasis in Kinesiology and a second masters degree in Dance/Movement Therapy.

While finishing my first masters degree, I began the pursuit of my second masters degree as a means to further my choreographic vision: engaging movement as a means for emotional expression. My masters thesis was on "Movement as Emotional Expression". My advisers suggested I learn about dance therapy because it accesses the emotions, and subconscious impulses, through movement. This course of study unleashed a whole new way of choreographing AND performing for me.

As I pursued the two masters degrees, I engaged the creative world of choreography, the scientific world of kinesiology and the psychological world of dance therapy in my quest for understanding how movement communicates, and more than that, to understand how movement touches the heart and soul of the viewer in an authentic -real and genuine- connection that is meaningful.

I began at first to call the product, the dances created, "Dances of Significance". This referred to the intention of the work: the art of dance as seen through the viewpoint of it's ultimate communication with the audience. But the title didn't covey the full impact of the process; a research tool that cultivated creative movement vocabulary for the choreographer, and unlocked the potential of the performer to reach into the recesses of his/her own experiences that are the source of powerful performance.

As I began to form the process, it became critical that it provide a manner to face the fears that prevent one from fully engaging in the creative expression of all emotions in their most valuable, vulnerable and genuine expression. It would be important also that the process then provide choreographers with a garden of uncultivated movement expressions, as I discovered come from intention and nuance, from movements unpracticed in the dance vocabulary and sometimes unbridled emotion expressed in raw movement that takes the witness on unexpected journeys.

Thus, as I began to understand that authentic expressive movement was the more universal product for which I searched, I utilized processes from dance therapy, improvisation, acting, dancing, choreography mixed together with a touch of scientific interest in the formula of the language of movement. Ultimately the name of this process thus evolved to become Expressive Movement Processing (EMP):

Expressive Movement Processing (EMP): Developed by Anandha Ray, EMP utilizes processes from improvisation, dance therapy and acting to (1) uncover and release blocks to creativity in performance, (2) formulate choreographic vocabulary, (3) understand and embody character development. EMP is a journey into the subconscious world in which creativity bridges the void between self and other. Through this process one surrenders control and follows pathways that allow the subconscious to reveal itself through artistic expression in movement. The process is both a deep exploration of self and personal motivations and practical education in the universal hieratic and culturally specific language of movement.