CounterPULSE

20 Oct, 2010

Notes from Dance Discourse #9

2010-10-20T12:29:05-07:00By |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 www.counterpulse.org/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 based

21 Oct, 2010

Notes From Dance Discourse Project #9: The internal practice informs the external world

2010-10-21T08:27:32-07:00By |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 counterpulse.org/dance_discourse_project/ At the exciting event participants were broken up into small groups where they discussed a variety of pertinent issues. Below is Maureen Walsh's account of the discussions led by Anne Bluethenthal and Lisa Wymore about the

9 Jan, 2011

The Best Laid Plans…

2016-03-18T22:19:57-07:00By |Categories: Artists in Residence, CounterPULSE, Dandelion Dancetheater, Video|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

A particularly challenging and fertile aspect of being a creator of experimental performance is that I often have to describe a project in detail many months or even years before I start on it. When working with 10 or more ensemble members and needing to plan out schedules and spaces that are accessible for dancing, instruments, wheelchairs, props, sets and more, I have to do a lot of advance planning. I joke often with my husband about how I have

9 Jan, 2011

Synchronicities

2016-03-18T22:19:45-07:00By |Categories: Artists in Residence, CounterPULSE, Dandelion Dancetheater, Video|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

One of my favorite things about the creative process is synchronicity. I follow intuition above all else in my art making and find myself continually rewarded by the ways that relationships I never could have dreamed up appear all of a sudden. Until recently I was planning on making a piece called Don't Suck! Cycle II as part of a four month residency at CounterPULSE in San Francisco. The recent deaths of my close friend Sharon and my grandmother moved

12 Jan, 2011

Public Showings

2016-03-18T22:19:33-07:00By |Categories: Artists in Residence, CounterPULSE, Dandelion Dancetheater|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

We have our first work-in-progress showing for my CounterPULSE residency this coming Saturday, Jan. 15th. Even though we're still at the beginnings of our creation process, I'm very glad we have this showing to work towards. There are many reasons that I find public showings of performance works in progress useful. These include: --forcing us as artists to make some decisions about what we want to show --giving a deadline to a particular segment of our creation process --encouraging everyone

18 Jan, 2011

Injury as Teacher

2016-03-18T22:19:18-07:00By |Categories: Artists in Residence, CounterPULSE, Dandelion Dancetheater, Video|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm often able to tell other people when they are injured how much every injury can be a teacher. When it's not me having to hold back from moving with physical abandon, I see the benefit of learning about our limitations and our vulnerability through our injuries. When I have an injury, my vision is a lot murkier and I have to wade through a lot of resistance before I come to some kind of acceptance of what happened and

27 Jan, 2011

Internship Week 1: Committed Souls

2011-01-27T17:02:45-08:00By |Categories: CounterPULSE|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

1/11/11, a lucky numerical day I believe to start something new.  I got off the BART train in high heels freezing my tiny self and toes off, noting that I never want to wear these specific heels again to the city.  I had coffee breathe and stopped by Walgreens to get some gum, I also eagerly needed to use the bathroom and wasn't familiar with the city enough to find one.  As  I walked down 9th street, I imagined myself arriving

8 Feb, 2011

Ode to my Father and my brother…

2016-03-18T22:36:01-07:00By |Categories: Amara Tabor Smith, Artists in Residence, CounterPULSE, Images|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I’m cooking as fast as I can! A week and a half ago, I found myself cooking for one food party after another and no sooner than I finish washing my trusty pot that I cook my stews in does Julie Phelps and Keith Hennessey call me and ask me if I can come cook for 150 people at the amazing marathon performance they produce at Dance Mission called, Too Much! What do I say? Hell yeah! I had a

12 Feb, 2011

Mid Way

2016-03-18T22:12:02-07:00By |Categories: Artists in Residence, Kegan Marling|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I feel half gay. Not sexually that is... I'm not bisexual or sexually confused. I'm clearly hot for men. I just feel culturally half gay. Like somehow I've inherited or learned only a part of the culture, but not actually enough to pass a thorough inspection. If I was to try to board a plane to return to Gay Land, customs would have a field day before letting me pass through. Of course, I don't really feel half straight either.

12 Feb, 2011

Birthing Pains

2016-03-18T22:19:07-07:00By |Categories: Artists in Residence, CounterPULSE, Dandelion Dancetheater|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I see the creation of each art work as a kind of birth. There's both great connection and great pain in this process, and I often forget that the magnitude of how connecting a piece is directly relates to how painful its birth can be. Last week we tried out a structure for performing a lot of the most salient material we've been developing in our Friend project. It's a difficult feat to imagine how to collage together all the

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