We’ve now reached the stage where we are running the whole piece each rehearsal and going back over individual scenes to rework the detail. If I’d ever boldly thought I was getting the hang of this movement performance thing, this passage of work is stretching me to my limits and beyond, and each session is full of discoveries. The differences that tiny variations in timing, pace, tone, energy levels etc can make are extraordinary, and I am still tuning my skills and awareness to be able to perform at this level of discrimination. I’m becoming more and more fascinated by how visualisation can change the movement quality in a way which is so clearly readable to audience, yet still feels so subtle to me.
Our dramaturg Kate was back in the studio with us today full of her clear-eyed insights and observations. With her help, we are starting to realise how, whatever the socio-political intent of the work was at the outset, that our process has led us much more deeply into psychological and relational territory. I recognise this impulse in my solo work as a poet – that somehow my political concerns always fold back into the psychological. Indeed, that’s why dance has been so important to me, as another means of accessing this material in a way which can feel (even) more embodied than my relationship with words. See below for a few more glimpses of our material from rehearsal videos…
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