Crazify your day

a friend posted this video on facebook and I thought it was BEYOND cool

here is the link to the HD version on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1664492411895&ref=mf

and here is the normal quality version:

Night Journey into Angels

Here is a piece by Martha Graham, a legend to say the very least! I love this piece for the group work more that the duet that actually occurs.

it is based on the story of Oedipus Rex and his Mother/Wife Jocasta

skip to minute 1.40 for the entrance of the large group of females (the chorus)

Night Journey by Martha Graham from Dee Kearney on Vimeo.

Another piece by Martha is Diversion of Angels, which again I love the group sections and less of the solos and duets. My favorite section is around minute 5.19 when the woman in red enters and especially the quartet that follows. I don't know why but it is so jovial and pretty.

Diversion of Angels by Martha Graham (Excerpt) from Dee Kearney on Vimeo.

Rite of Spring

sometimes (often) I feel like the sacrificial virgin here... I think that's why I keep coming back to this piece and why I love it so much

there is something so emotionally honest about this final section of Pina Bausch's version of Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. It is so earthy and raw... nothing to hide, all her cards are on the table

warning there is partial nudity in this clip (upper torso of a female to be precise)

you can see all of this version on youtube and I highly recommend it

I like being a tree in your odd little forest

Tuesday Aug 31 I taught the Beginning Modern class for Variable Velocity. On Tuesday I was thinking about the class and that I wanted to use it to work on ideas and play around with material for Nipomo High School.

I know that I am interested in the idea of layers, levels, and as usual dynamic opposition. That led me to the idea of a forest and the layers of a natural forest with tall trees, bushes, grasses, critters, the wind, etc all working together to create this environment with so much life, energy and movement.

I am considering using this Zoe Keating song because I only get 3-4 mins to show a complete thought which is very difficult (think about taking gone with the wind and condensing it to a paragraph)

However as I started thinking about the movement I found myself very stuck... I had choreographers block. I couldn't shake it my body wouldn't flow, my mind wouldn't open, and for the life of me I couldn't visualize anything.

So I went for a walk, possibly the best thing I could do. I went out I found some trees, the wind was mighty that day and the sun was bright. I breathed the air and soaked in the sun and had this Balmorhea song on repeat on my ipod. I had found the music but not the story yet.

It took me almost 3 hours to bang out some semblance of a phrase... that frankly I'm not a huge fan of and I plan on scrapping 90% of it. There are bits of it that I like and lots that I don't but that is the nice part of setting the movement on these dancers before the Nipomo kids. If Mac, Caren and I can't make it work, then no one can.

So here is the phrase that consists of all forest things, starts with grass then trees and moves to wind and critters and those bushes and ends with a falling leaf.

take a look, tell me what you think, and look for a drastic change next tuesday!

VV Beginning combo 8-31-10 from Lauren Chertudi on Vimeo.

The dancers are rock stars working so hard to make this look and feel decent. I had no specific timing or counts and no real definite structure to movement quality.

VV Beginning Combo *dancers only* 8-31-10 from Lauren Chertudi on Vimeo.

Observe and Report

Wednesday August 25th I went to Nipomo High School and observed Chrissy's dance classes for the day (well from 10am on it is summer!)

Out of the blue I had the idea that it would be really cool if I could observe Chrissy's classes and look at her dancers and really see them in an environment other than the audition back in May.

I wanted to observe the company class for the purpose of, almost a pre audition, viewing. I care more about my dancers' attitudes than ability. They made it to the company because they can dance, but I am a tough choreographer and I want to push the dancers to their limits. I'm not going to give them elementary material like I did in the audition. So I need dancers willing to risk a little more in performance and really commit to the work.

I also REALLY hate a bad attitude and lazy behavior. I don't appreciate it. In the past I have stopped rehearsals and sent dancers home because they were physically present but mentally absent.

The actual day of observing was interesting, the first class was the company.

of course all the girls and a couple of the guys recognized me and I watched them rehearse a piece they are performing at the football game in a couple weeks. It seemed like at least half the dancers weren't feeling well (I guess a flu outbreak or something) so many were marking it. You can tell a lot about a dancer by the way they mark a piece.

I simply observed and in general kept my mouth shut, which is hard sometimes.

Next was Dance 2 with a ballet routine... most of the dancers were far from dance 2 level but according to Chrissy she can't do much about it.

The final 2 classes I observed was Dance 1 in hip hop. This was a lot of fun to watch... let me just say Chrissy's got swagger!

After observing I chatted a bit with Chrissy about random dance chit chat and headed on my way.

The next 3 weeks I'm teaching beginning modern for Variable and I think I'm going to work on material for Nipomo and teach an audition class in a couple of weeks.

More to come!!!

More to follow

Mental Snacks

My current inspirations:
• Today I found an old friend (line from the movie Purple Violets)
• A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent! ( last 2 lines fron “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron)
• music:

The Coolest Cat I Know

I met Laura Peterson the summer of 2007 at the first ever Balance Dance Co summer intensive. She rocked my world to say the least. She is the most amazing dancer and choreographer with a style all her own. She is a modern day dance rock star. She has created pieces to music by Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Lumberob, and many more. She works a lot by recording improvs and then taking movement from them and creating dances.

Here is an improv she did at MoMA last month.

at MoMA 2/14/10 from Laura Peterson on Vimeo.

Assembly

I thought this piece was interesting I wish the dancers were a bit sharper and committed in their movement but the choreography is interesting. I hate it when I feel as if a dancer is marking the movement instead of actually fulfilling it. I wanted so much more from their performance.

Such potential here

assembly from jacob robinette on Vimeo.

The Intimacy Chronicles: Boxes and Curves Inspiration

Heima is the Sigur Ros movie that inspired my boxes and curves improv

take a look it is beautiful music and beautiful videography

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3

My Nugget of Presence

here is the phrase created for my nugget of presence, I plan on speaking french phrases at the end when the hands move towards the ears and drop. To read the ideas behind the phrase see posts Presence and Presence 2

A couple of the movements are inspired by other things as well. The hand follows the veins on the inside of the arm comes from a line of poetry my friend Corey wrote while in France. And the head nuzzle on the shoulder and the hand that curls to a fist comes from a guy I knew in France as well.

Music by Sigur Ros

Enjoy

Nugget of Presence from Lauren Chertudi on Vimeo.

Human Movement

I love this video, however I wish it was longer because it is such interesting movement and ideas that I don't want it to end.

Human Movement from Jordan Clarke on Vimeo.

The Body Morphic

Here is a cool dance video that I fully enjoy because of how they made it. She had to move SO slow in order to make it look so good. She has great presence. I love the part where the rush of people comes through (side note this dancer needs a ham sandwich! or 5). Please enjoy

The Body Morphic from Indelible Dance on Vimeo.

The man I want to marry! Seriously

These are the coolest videos EVER! I plan on marrying the man in the second video "My passion, my job, my life!!!" He's everything I want in a man: cute, talented, lives in Paris, and is a B-boy

Made in Paris from tomson on Vimeo.

My passion, my job, my life !!! from tomson on Vimeo.

Dance with technology

I just about peed my pants with excitement over this video!!!!! seriously

I'm fascinated because I want to see the choreography straight up and compare it to the morphed versions that appear in this video

you must watch this twice through at least

Atelic from duckeyejey on Vimeo.