audience participation

It strikes me that one way art changes people is by breaking up the routines, activities, and thought patterns we become accustomed to in our daily lives. Which is often great, but can also really piss some people off.

I wanted to share a picture of my most recent collaboration at PARK(ing) Day. This picture was taken by Lauren's amazing mom, Bette Linderman, and captures so well a moment of art imitating life while life offers it's opinion right back. 

I felt this girl pass by me through the "stage" space while I was dancing, and though I had no idea how expressive she was at the time, it still made me smile. I realize now that the piece is kind of all about mashup: modern dance and pop music, theatrical elements and abstract movement, and the idea of parental love and protection both supporting and clashing against societal expectations. 

I just think that the composition of this photograph really speaks to those themes, and I wish I could hire this girl for the next performance! But I'm guessing I could never re-create the way this experience changed my perception of the piece and of myself dancing in the streets, nor could it re-create the emotions displayed so honestly by the mysterious character of woman-with-shopping-bags.

<3 Claire

PARK(ing) Day Performance in Berkeley this Friday

There's no such thing as a free lunch...but there is FREE DANCING AT LUNCHTIME!!! 

This Friday around noon, at Allston and Shattuck in downtown Berkeley, across from BART. We'll be performing "in a delicate way, without being beautiful." (that's a title...not a descriptor) with some awesome Bay Area artists!

The PARK(ing) Day Dance Festival is part of Nina Haft & Company's contribution to a now worldwide event. Check out their blog: http://ninahaftandcompany.wordpress.com/dancing-in-the-streets-with-friends/

A temporary PARK in San Francisco by event originators Rebar. Check out http://parkingday.org/about-parking-day/

I am so enamored by the concept of this event: leasing some urban real estate by paying the meter of a parking spot in order to create public space for art, play, and community activity rather than vehicle storage. Totally groovy and has already changed the way I look at parking spots as I drive by and wonder...Ooh the possibilities ;)

<3 Claire

3 ways to stay in the loop!

Hi all!

Just wanted to let you know that I finally figured out how to add more tangible ways for people to follow the blog...technology is hard!

So you can choose to subscribe for emails notifications when we add a new post, get updates through your favorite feed reader (I use Google Reader to follow blogs I like etc), or you can be an fcdc Follower (in the best way that word can be construed) and show us your support without getting notifications besides your Blogger Reading List. 

Thank you so much for those of you who've already shown your interest by Following, I love you all =)!

<3 Claire

thoughts from fcdc dancer Jessica de Leon

My parents put me in a ballet class when I was 4 years old. I remember seeing my older cousin perform in The Nutcracker and I wanted to be part of that world of sparkles and rhinestones and glitter. I've since out grown that. I've been dancing pretty consistently since then, taking only a short hiatus during my squirrely pre-teen years.

I didn't develop any strong feelings about dance until college. During my junior year as a dance major at Santa Clara University a professor challenged us with an interesting extra credit project: write a dance manifesto. I'm pretty sure I was the only person in the class who actually did the assignment. And most of what I came up with was total crap. But regardless, the process of writing my manifesto changed me as an artist. It forced me to sit down and actually put into words why I love dance.

Here are some parts that I don't think are crap:

"Dance has the power to change things, on both the micro and macro levels. I see dance  everywhere. Not just in the bodies of trained dancers, but in the people walking down the street and the smell of coffee wafting in the air. I see dance in the words people speak and in the silences where words need not be spoken. Dance is a passion and the medium which I choose to express my thoughts, opinions, and feelings.

"Dance is a spiritual act that brings a person’s body into communion with things that cannot be seen, only felt.
 

Photo by Joey Brennan

 

"Dance is a conversation. Whether it is between the dancer and the audience or the mover and the unknown there is dialogue that exists. Perhaps it calls our beliefs into question or enrages us to act or it simply fills us with joy. Despite the quality of the reaction, dance makes us feel something.
 

"Dance is community. In dancing with others we share a part of ourselves that goes beyond all that could ever be said. The Hopi Indians say that 'To see us dance is to hear our hearts speak.' And dancing alone allows us to reveal ourselves in an intimate and uncensored way. Dance can bring people together when the world and its human insufficiencies have torn them apart. 

"Dance is movement. Movement is dance. They cannot be separated. And there is beauty in that relationship, that tension. The world is not still or stagnant.  Movement is constant and ever present. An English teacher once told me, 'Without the push and pull of life, there is no movement.'

"Creativity and imagination propel the art of dance in to a realm beyond definitions or explanations. And that is why it is beautiful. And that is why everyone should dance."

Since I've started law school, my perspective on the world has definitely changed. This includes my thoughts on dance and art. But that might be fodder for another blog post :)

first encounters with dance

I cannot believe it is the middle of August already. Holy canole where does time go? I haven't posted in a while, but I've been keeping the motor running...contemplating the beginning of new works, the possibilities of re-visiting choreographic ideas that have already seen performance, and thinking a lot lately about the teaching of dance and how we instruct children to use their bodies as a medium for artistic pursuits. 

Oh boy...what is art...what is the value of "self-expression"...how do we make "good dancers"...can they be "made"...ahh! So much to talk about. But as a dance teacher, I am acutely aware that I introduce my own ideas about the dancing body, aesthetics, and self-discipline to students as young as 2 years old to young adults.

I'm highly interested in how people meet dance for the first time, and how that encounter shapes their perceptions and the ongoing evolution of their relationship to dance culture. I've asked the members of for change dance collective to share a little bit of their personal histories and philosophies, and I find it speaks to the kind of dancers and dance-makers they have become. I hope you enjoy their revelations as much as I do =).

<3 Claire

Thank yous are in order =)

You guys! =) I felt so blessed and honored to have the kind support of my friends and family who came out to Fog Fest or who expressed their desire to see my work if they couldn't make it.

To that end, I put together a little video of excerpts from our dress rehearsal so that interested parties could get a sample. Just a taste! Gotta keep you wanting more, right?

Whether you saw the piece live or not, if anyone has any feedback for me PLEASE do share!! I love hearing about what people saw, thought, felt...if they liked it or hated it (especially the "why" part!) or if they had questions. Anything is helpful and you can comment on the blog or email or FB me, send up smoke signals, use a carrier pigeon...I'm open! Seriously, things you liked AND things that could be improved/explored further/revisited.

I was extremely lucky to share a stage with Lauren and Jessica, who helped me craft the piece from beginning to end. They generated movement with me, shared bits of themselves, and became invested in the conversation, which is what true collaboration is all about in my opinion. Look out for more to come on these lovely ladies in a future post ;)

A penny for your thoughts?

<3 Claire

Fog Fest is one week away!

In just one week I'll be presenting my choreography for the first time in San Francisco, at the Fog Fest Summer Choreographer's Showcase at Dance Mission Theater. I'm very excited and nervous, but I am incredibly honored to be working with the talented and thoughtful dance artists Jessica De Leon and Lauren Baines, and I wanted to talk a little bit about the trio we've made together.

Through a mixture of written personal reflection, verbal storytelling, improvisation, and movement generation we have been interrogating the concept of "pretty". How has this word, and all that it represents, manifested as experience in our lives? How have we witnessed it's affects on others?

I was tickled, intrigued, and slightly horrified when this definition was the first thing to pop up in my Google search:

pret·ty/ˈpritē/

 Verb: Make pretty or attractive: "she'll be all prettied up in an hour".

Adjective: Attractive in a delicate way without being beautiful.

It's obviously a highly gendered word, it implies something aesthetic but not necessarily substantive, and in my experience, it has a way of weaving itself into the fabric of our identity in subtle yet definite ways. I hadn't ever thought of it as a verb before.

I heard an exchange between two moms once that went something like this (as I'm a visual person, I've included some emoticons to describe the emotional landscape):

"Is this your daughter?"

"Yes! (:"

"Oh she's so preeeetty!"

"D=< [in hushed tones] don't say that in front of her, she'll develop a complex!"

This got me thinking...what effect does it have on a person (and let's face it, judgment based on appearances affects females more than males...any takers on that discussion?) when they are told throughout their development that their looks say something about who they are? Whether you were the pretty little girl, the tomboy, the redhead, the skinny kid/fat kid, the nerd...did you live up to what was expected from you based on your genetic luck of the draw? 

In the dance world, we are especially prone to intense looking. I'm not really sure if I want my dances to be called "pretty" or if that would be insulting...? Is pretty one step up from cute and one below beautiful? Need I mention the size and provocative nature of dance costumes for 7 year-olds or "Toddlers In Tiaras"...eek that's probably enough said right there.

As adults we spend a lot of time considering how we look to others, and every other T.V. show kindly reaches out to help the desperately ugly or unfashionable improve their chances at success in their careers, social lives, and relationships with themselves via makeovers that range from a little makeup and a haircut to plastic surgery and thousands of dollars towards a new wardrobe. Is it really all about how it makes you feel on the inside, as the blue-haired host claims? Does our physical appearance reflect who we truly are, or do we strive to fulfill the potential imagery that society describes as our better selves? Aside from the all-knowing Google, who really defines pretty, or has pretty defined us?

As usual, I have many questions and few answers, but a lot of movement! Jess, Lauren, and I have been considering these concepts, sharing our experiences with each other, and collaboratively building the choreography. If you're so inclined, please share any thoughts sparked by this topic here and come out to see the show next Saturday at 8pm or Sunday at 7pm!

<3 Claire

Dance Brigade presents
Fog Fest Summer Choreographer's Showcase
July 8-10, 2011
Fri-Sat @ 8 pm; Sun @ 7 pm

Dance Mission Theater
3316 24th St, SF CA 94110

Tickets: $14
www.brownpapertickets.com
415-273-4633

For more information visit www.dancemission.com

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158674777535374