contact improvisation

23 Jan, 2009

Some reflections, midway through the ANIMoid adventure.

2009-01-23T22:02:30-08:00By |Categories: CounterPULSE, Homepage Links|Tags: , , , , , , |

by Katarina Eriksson (Winter Artist in Residence in collaboration with Cathie Caraker) One of the breeding grounds for this project is the subtext of two aliens who have come to earth and inhabited human bodies. I do think of it as a dance piece (as opposed to a dance theater piece), where the human body with all its fascinating functions is the protagonist. The alien idea seems to provide us with pretty much endless inspiration, and it works as a

4 Feb, 2009

Who is the alien? Some ramblings during the making of ANIMoid.

2009-02-04T09:06:09-08:00By |Categories: CounterPULSE|Tags: , , , , , |

Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved science fiction. My mom used to write novels and stories herself. She introduced me to the great sci fi writers and I’ve been hooked ever since - not so much to the hard science, but to the question, “what if...?” I’ve especially loved the women writers like Ursula Le Guin, Joanna Russ and Doris Lessing who address social issues by imagining alien cultures on other planets with vastly different bodies, histories and

4 Mar, 2009

Conclusion: Whatever!

2009-03-04T01:32:20-08:00By |Categories: CounterPULSE|Tags: , , , , , , |

It is only a few days left to the opening of ANIMoid, the piece that Cathie Caraker and I have been working with for some time now. We think of it as a post-modern dance laboratory. The research we are performing in that laboratory started with the question: What might happen if two aliens came to earth and inhabited human bodies? In our work we take inspiration from things such as developmental movement patterns, perception and body systems, and use

9 Mar, 2009

ANIMoid: the final week

2009-03-09T08:52:18-07:00By |Categories: CounterPULSE|Tags: , , , , , , |

Chop wood, carry water, tape chairs and oh yes perform... 3/3 Night before the dress rehearsal. It's 11 pm and I'm still on on the sidewalk spray-painting my beautiful Mission-style dining room chairs a metallic silver, after spending way too many hours with Katarina covering their endless slats with gaffer's tape. Back aching, head thick from breathing paint fumes. It starts to rain again, creating splotches all over the wet paint. Someone from the contact jam comes outside, yells at

16 Dec, 2009

Thanksgiving and Performing Diaspora …by Charlotte Moraga

2009-12-16T02:49:31-08:00By |Categories: Charlotte Moraga, CounterPULSE, Performing Diaspora|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

November.  Thanksgiving.  Well, Performing Diaspora was a thanksgiving feast of a sort, for sure.  Dishes of quiet contemplative explosions and moments of mirth filled the platter,  like when Sri did her nonplussed "boob dance" and her sexy "butt dance."  With her back to the audience, she cocked her head as if to say, "I see you, watching me, watching you."  There was Devendra's utterly charming and engrossing nautanki play, Yannis' virtuosic and athletic dance -- one moment in particular took

19 Oct, 2010

Notes from Dance Discourse 9 : Living, Training, Tracking

2010-10-19T11:37:46-07:00By |Categories: CounterPULSE|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

On October 18, 2010 Bay Area arts community members met at CounterPULSE for the Dance Discourse Project #9: Dance and Somatics in the Bay Area-- what's the connection.  Co-presented by Dancers' Group the event looked at how somatic practices and dance are intertwined in the Bay Area.  To learn more visit http://dev-counterpulse.pantheon.io/programs/dance-discourse-project/ At the exciting event participants were broken up into small groups where they discussed a variety of pertinent issues.  Below is one person's account of the discussions. Many

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