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!