finding the words

howdy folks...it's alex again, i'm back...by popular demand (well, not quite, but i would like to believe that is true :) any-who, i hope everyone had a great holiday and ate lots of turkey or whatever your favorite thanksgiving dish was. we are entering our last week of work for the season and then we have an extended break and resume working in mid-january. however, the work doesn't stop...we are currently diving back into "The Point" work.

i feel the objective is to really solidify and clarify any previous work we have done so that when we do return we can more easily access that information. that being said, now when we show work "in progress," we have to be really clear with ourselves (and to one another) with what our movement phrases really mean. that sounds weird, but it's true. we talked the other day about how being a dancer doesn't only mean we dance around trying to be pretty all day...we have to be clear with what we are trying to say/do with our bodies. so...we have to be able to verbalize and talk about our bodies, our intentions, our ideas....our art!

this comes in handy when you are teaching your movements to other people in the company. i take a very metaphorical approach to what i am trying to do...more concerned with how it feels, what the internal dialogue is like, or even providing an abstract visual to what i want to accomplish. dealing with the human body is really fascinating because everyone is so unique...what works for me, may not necessarily work for maryjane, or corian; so how can i best communicate my intentions to someone to get them to stay honest to my movement. hence...all the conversation...

to give some background...we were given the task of making a list of a maximum of 20 things we need to survive (sounds easy)...we made the list, each with varying numbers of things we each needed to survive. from that list, we had to narrow it down to 10...then to 3...then to one essential thing needed to survive...mine, ultimately was...love. so in exploring that i created a phrase that i taught to maryjane. from there we have been investigating and working on clarifying what i want to get at with the movement.

so now, you have an inside look on how i ramble and wax philosophically to try to communicate the inspiration for my phrase. it may only really make sense to me...but those are the only words i could find at the time. and from my body language, it is difficult for me to find anything concrete to help people understand. as a person, i am inspired images, abstraction, and feelings...so as a dancer it isn't that different. i will admit, it is hard for me to find the proper words to express how my approach to creating dance/movement.

however, i have to find the happy medium and at least attempt to find some way to help someone else understand what i want...so that they can begin the journey to find how that will work on their body. that is why dance is fascinating...we have to be able to get other dancers to find their entry point into the movement, and how it feels emotionally, physically, and mentally. then, after that is the added difficulty of getting the audience to understand...it is a task, and sometimes it is difficult, and the dancer (or audience) may not understand...and that is ok too, but if you can reach just one person...one person, that is all it takes, then it is considered a job well done.

but i will be the first to admit...it is very difficult!