Engrossed in details that aren't supposed to be noticed!

Most mornings I start my day with a crossword app that usually takes me less than ten minutes. As new puzzles are published daily, it is easy to tell when I have missed a day (or two... or more!). Missing my daily brainteaser is usually a function of adjusting to a new routine, and getting stuck-in to a project... to be honest, I have missed multiple days since my last post on this blog. 

My private courtyard in Auckland, where the out of sync reflection seems apt...

While I have been leaving at 8:00am each morning and returning home by around 7:00pm, I have not really noticed the length of my days, though I have fallen asleep on the sofa every evening shortly after making myself dinner. It is only upon reflection that I realize just how much has been achieved each day, both personally and work-wise. So much so, that I would not dare to ask myself what day it is, without consulting my phone's calendar. LOL. My internal work-clock has also continued with the dual time-zone sensitivity, as I need to connect with NYC on various fronts. 

Paul Taylor Dance Company's NYC opening gets a pic in the London Times!

Then there is always my interest in what is happening with friends and associates around the world, as Jamaica recovers from hurricane Melissa, Paul Taylor Dance Company starts their three week performance season in NYC, companies and dancers with whom I have worked in England and continental Europe are opening their own seasons with world premieres and new direction, even more dance associates are producing new shows and programs in India, and of course, I want to see performances here in New Zealand! 

But about getting stuck-in to my primary project here to teach and coach Black Grace dancers to perform Paul Taylor's iconic Esplanade! Taylor's choreography has been recognized for its transferrability to other dance companies with very different training and aesthetic appeal from Taylor's namesake company. Determining exactly what that means varies dramatically from one instance to another, yet the process always begins with getting simply teaching the dancers the steps, musicality, and their individual paths in space. In words, this can seem like the lion's share of the work that needs to be done. However, for a choreographic work to truly come into its own life on stage, each and every dancer needs to embody their roles in the dance to perform as though every step, gesture, and shift of weight is a spontaneous and intentional choice. If you have ever had to memorize a speech or a poem written by someone else, and then have to recite it as though it is your own thoughts without reading the words... this might approximate what I, as a staging director, am asking of dancers preparing to dance a Taylor work.

Here's an interview that Alan Granville did with me from his home base in Wellington. My phone surprised me today by having this image pop up on my "feed". 

Stuff NZ/new-york-new-zealand-black-grace

A distinguishing factor of how I teach dances is that I do not have a script with words for the dancers to take home and learn their choreography. This is actually a wonderful thing about dance as a performance art, that is transferred to dancers directly by a staging director. When I come in for a rehearsal, I do my best to know each and every dancer's steps, patterns, rhythms, and musicality that I intend to teach that day. As I teach each role, I may need to take time to adjust the dancer's approach to the phrase we are working on, intending to add layers to their personal execution. I liken this approach to reading the title of an old Dr Seuss collection of writings and cartoons, The Tough Coughs as he Ploughs the Dough. It is one thing to read the words, and quite another to pronounce them to be understood as intended, even though the sentence may not make complete sense. 

English speakers may well pronounce each "-ough" word with a different accent and still be understood. So too, dancers can perform moves with their own unique idiosyncracies while projecting the intent of the choreography, when care has been taken to clarify the movement's roots and development. And how an audience perceives a dance can then be colored and interpreted by audiences culture and personal references. I think that great dances can mean different things to different viewers.

I've so much more to write about this process, but let's suffice to say here that in this initial teaching phase, I have been engrossed in preparing for each day's rehearsals. And then it is both exciting and exhausting to have my knowledge challenged and absorbed by the dancers, where we have built every second of a thirty minute long dance. We finally have a rough sketch of the whole, and this coming week will be time to carefully fill in the detail and let the dancers find themselves in each successive run of the work, as well as to come together as an ensemble cast in the dance, not forgetting that they also have a world premiere by Neil Ieremia that will form the other half of the performance program.

I took the opportunity today, Sunday, to treat myself to see a play at the ASB Waterfront Theatre, and find a nice restaurant for dinner. The play was Tiri: Te Araroa - Woman Far Walking by Witi Ihimaera and it is performed in both te reo Maori and English. By the way, it took me far longer than I care to admit, to learn that te reo Maori is the appropriate classification and that "te reo" simply means "language". My ignorance aside, I loved the production, the play and the two actresses who performed. 

However, it is my lack of understanding te reo Maori that stikes a chord with my approach to bringing an American choreographer's work to be performed by New Zealanders. As a child, I attended Catholic masses in Latin before I ever understood that Latin was a language, and not just a complex religious chant. I went to operas sung in German and Italian before supertitles were a thing. I think I have always been aware that there is so much more to communication than simple words. And I suspect that I actually missed many of the nuances and details of the storytelling today. Yet the acting and direction, along with the how the dialogue blended the two languages kept me engaged and able to follow the primary arc of the play. I also admit that I love to attend live performances with as little preparatory research as possible, hoping to be surprised by Art that transcends the hours and years that went into creating the moments I would be witnessing. Can I be that audience who is deeply affected through the craft and skills of the cast and creative teams? Will the performance mean something to me without a full understanding of the language being used? 

A waterfront view of Auckland...

... and the view in the other direction.

As dance artists, we often ask audiences to try and not look for meaning, but to simply allow themselves to respond to the experience as it unfolds. Yet the culture of viewing the world in which we grew up, or where we find ourselves most comfortable, may have nutured us to try and conform to what we are told, rather than react to non-verbal cues with our unconscious affinities and understandings of our own selves. If a performance of any kind connects with audiences of myriad backgrounds and verbal understanding, isn't this the kind of Art we should all aspire to experience?

This blog (FNZdance25.blogspot.com) is not an official site of the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author (Richard Chen See) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations.