I’m sure that most of you are familiar with the traditional wooden Russian Doll. It opens up like a box to find another exact replica inside (only smaller) and then yet another, and another, etc. The more I research, the more I find and the plethora of information slowly seeps into my initial ideas. This is how I am feeling at the moment within my own creative process regarding “Koreni”. It is so funny how ideas in the brain and on paper are hard to translate sometimes into the tangible physical world…For example, I’m clear but my musicians have a different idea, I go with their idea and then they decide that they like mine in the end and then I am unsure and go back to the drawing board. I am here, they are in Los Angeles and Europe at the moment so feedback is limited. We need to find creative ways to work with each other until we can actually meet together and jam together, and yet for some reason amid the seeming chaos I feel completely calm and trusting.
The beauty and inspiration for me lies in the fact that my relative clarity with this project has connected me with others who openly accept and share my vision with uttmost enthusiasm and dedication. Miroslav and Alfredo met finally in L.A. and in one short session came up with two beautiful recordings melding two traditions, Spanish and Serbian, just like that, no rythmic trouble, no chord progression issues, just one incredibly talented musician jamming with another and finding a new common ground. I am honored.
I will be away teaching at OBT in Portland until August so I unfortunately cannot be physically present for the first showing, but I will be continuing my work up there and look forward to sharing with all of you lovely artists! To be continued…
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Unsettled/Soiled Group is a group of East, Southeast, and South Asian diasporic movers, makers, and settlers on Ramaytush and Chochenyo Ohlone land. Unsettled/Soiled Group is led by June Yuen Ting, one of CounterPulse's 2022 ARC Performing Diaspora artists and will debut Dwelling for Unsettling alongside VERA!'s Try, Hye!, Thursday through Saturday, December 8-10 & 15-17, 2022
Try, Hye! by Vera Hannush/VERA! & Dwelling for Unsettling by Unsettled/Soiled Group December 8-10 & 15-17, 2022 // 8PM PT // 80 Turk St, SF
VERA! (they/them) is a queer Armenian American drag king, dancer, and community activist. They are one of CounterPulse's 2022 ARC Performing Diaspora artists and will debut Try, Hye! alongside Unsettled/Soiled Group's Dwelling for Unsettling, Thursday through Saturday, December 8-10 & 15-17, 2022
Danica, it sounds like your experience thus far is just the kind of exciting journey of discovery that we had hoped for Performing Diaspora. Long-distance collaborations can be challenging, but so rewarding. We look forward to the moment when you and all of your collaborators land here at CounterPULSE!