Thodos Dance Chicago celebrates the tenth year of its New Dances series, probably the most successful of the many Dance Company-sponsored programs for the development of new choreography. It’s not uncommon for Dance companies to have a program that encourages their members and guest artists to choreograph in a special developmental program. The Thodos Dance New Dances approach is a much more far-reaching commitment than is the norm, though.
The process of choreography is variable and complex, and several projects ‘ohana Dreamdance has done in the past year, along with the Tenth Anniversary of Thodos Dance Chicago’s New Dances, makes this a good time to talk about that process. Extensions Dance Company, who’s 2010 Showcase is on Saturday, May 29 at the Ruth Page Center For the Arts, will be performing Lizzie MacKenzie’s work “Time Now”, set to two ‘ohana Dreamdance tracks, “Time Now” and “Some Time”. We’ve just finished the choreography mix of our track “What Was Beyond” for Shayna Swanson’s brilliant aerial choreography and performance. Finally, Mollie Mock and Jeremy Blair’s enchanting work “Reflect”, set to our track “Hidden”, premiered at New Dances last year and has just completed it’s first year in the Thodos Dance Chicago repertoire.
But maybe I should explain how I got mixed up in all of this to begin with. I’m a record producer by trade, but like many mixer/producers, I’ve also spent a lot of time recording and mixing projects that I was not producing. Before the development of system-based recording, choreographers like Melissa Thodos had to find a recording studio to put together the music for their works, and that was my first exposure to the world of Dance.
Despite the importance of music in almost all dance creation, the world of dance and the world of music are very different. They are different cultures, different economies, often different classes. In my experience, though, the most significant differences are actually the result of differences in perception.
For most of its professionals and for most of its audience, choreography is essentially a visual art, and dancers and choreographers are primarily visual in their perceptions. They react intensely to music, but often as texture more than as composition, the way a fashion designer perceives fabric. Although profoundly inspired by some music, they often perceive it almost as color, but rarely as artistic structure, much the same way that a painter perceives light.
The title of this article is the second half of the title of one of the best descriptions of choreography I’ve ever read. Roslyn Sulcas wrote a year-end article in the New York Times summarizing the most memorable performances she had seen during the year. The article is called “Leading Bodies, Stirring Imaginations”, and it begins with a superb description of the art of choreography:
"CREATING a dance involves much more than inventing steps for dancers. It needs a judicious eye for visual and spatial effect, a sense of timing and an instinct for building attention, for varying the mood and creating an overall theatrical arc that draws an audience into the world of the dance. Thinking about my favorite dance watching moments of the year, I realized that they all involved a sense of wonder at the skill with which the choreographers had woven these elements into a whole, making every aspect of a dance feel not just necessary, but inevitable."
Choreography is one of those arts that is especially difficult to master, because it requires so many different resources for its development. Dancers, music, costumes, lighting, and some place to stage the performance make a challenging list of components. Yet rarely is it creativity or competence in the development of these components that most challenges new choreographers (well, most choreographers). It’s the mastery of the process.
Jessica Miller Tomlinson’s choreography has attracted an increasingly dedicated following over the past few years; her 2006 work “Forget What You Came For?”and last year’s “Architecture: Splintered and Cracked” were both commissioned for the Thodos Dance Chicago New Dances series, and both were subsequently added to the Company’s repertoire. This June, Jessica and Jaqueline Stewart will present a special two-night production of their own works at JMT/JLS (June 4-5 at the Ruth Page Center For the Arts, Chicago), where Jessica will premiere a new work entitled “Let Me In”.
Extensions Dance, the Company founded and directed by Lizzie MacKenzie for exceptionally dedicated young dancers, would be what is normally referred to as a “preprofessional company” -- I think I’ve used that term in an earlier article, and it’s certainly accurate. None of these dancers are professional in the dictionary sense, where the most basic definition of “professional” means “to be compensated monetarily for work performed.” The term “preprofessional” actually has a very positive implication in the dance world, because it implies a level of commitment and ability in the company members that is characteristic of someone who will dance professionally.
I went to see Extensions Dance at the American Dance Awards competition at Governors State University last Saturday, and I’ve never seen a more professional demonstration (although that’s true every time I see this company anywhere, in rehearsal or in performance).
This is my probably my favorite track from last year. I thought I'd share it and recommend the entire album.
Dance Chicago begins its unique month-long presentation of dance performances, and on Thursday, November 3, the first of the New Moves series will go on at Stage 773. Following up on last month's very successful run of their full length show What Is Home To You, Renegade Dance Architects will present two works: Ginger Jensen's Search Me and Amy Williams' Here They Come. For more info: Stage 773.
As challenging as it is to express an artistic vision, only slightly less difficult is trying to get anybody to pay attention when you do. One of the important artistic aspects of Thodos Dance Chicago's New Dances series is that all of the best critical voices in the city take the time to see the works and write about them. Here's some of the coverage for New Dances 2011 -- enthusiastic, engaging, and like most criticism, multifaceted:
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune
Zachary Whittenburg, Time Out Chicago
Laura Molzahn, SeeChicagoDance.com
Hay Perro's Record Release is at Quenchers, Friday March 11. Thunderunderus and I Love Rich! are there too, starting at 9PM. A great chance to check out what The Illinois Entertainer called "the sound Hay Perro has crafted during its five-year existence: intricate heavy-metal — dual-guitar harmonies everywhere — played with madcap punk-rock ferocity." If you want to, you can look up some of our other stories on Hay Perro while you're waiting for the show to start.
South By Southwest runs March 11 through the 20th in Austin, and Black Light Saints will be there to play Cedar Street Courtyard on Tuesday the 15th, after which they head to San Antonio for a show at Limelight on the 16th. Their Impossible Picks album is getting heard alot in alot of places --- I just listened to it again when Britton Wetherald and Dan Agosto stopped by Heart & Soul to do a podcast, which we'll have in a day or so. There's a new release from the band at dopecouture.com called "Research The Obvious" (along with a great write-up) if you can't make Austin or San Antonio.
The new planetclaire.com is live. The relaunch coincides with the release of Claire's latest project, her Hearts and Minds EP. It's a great artist site, mixing the new --- "A Long Goodbye" and "Winds of Change" (written and produced with long-time writing partner Tommy G), and "Wouldn't It" (produced by 'ohana Dreamdance bandmate Johnny Nevin) --- with some classic video from pop legend Tami Show. More from us about Hearts and Minds in a few days, but you can get it now at cdbaby and at iTunes. Even more of Claire's music is at the very cool Planet Claire.
Thodos Dance Chicago's Winter Concert March 4 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, like the performance February 19 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, was a breakthrough success. Hedy Weiss, writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, said of the Winter Concert: "It is a must-see for anyone intrigued by Chicago history, by the power of dance to spin a story, and by the sight of a dance troupe clearly in the throes of a major breakthrough." For a closer look at the choreography of the current Thodos Dance Chicago repertory, you may want to have a look at these:
Ann Reinking, Melissa Thodos and "The White City"
Francisco Avina and Stephanie Martinez-Bennit and "Quieting the Clock"
Melissa Thodos and "Getting There"
Wade Schaaf and "Dancer, Net (Solo 1)"
Ron De Jesús and "Shift"
Pittsburgh Connections is the widely respected annual choreography series presented by Point Park University's Pittsburgh's Playhouse. This year's performance premiere's November 12, and runs through the 21st. You can find more information on the shows, which include new works by Dionna Pridgeon, Kassandra Taylor, Gina Patterson and Justin Myles, at Pittsburgh Playhouse. For the first installment of the podcast with Craig talking about his return to Point Park, check out Craig Kaufman's Return to Point Park University, and for more on "A Path Home", here's the full article: Craig Kaufman's A Path Home Premieres.
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Here's a really short podcast that traces the development of the "Wouldn't It" production. It starts with the intro from the final release, but then shows five different stages of the song's development, playing different progressive versions of how the arrangement and production of the track changed. Each of the versions is from the same section of the song, the second verse and chorus, until the podcast closes with the rest of the song from the final release. If you've got a few minutes, take a little trip through the process of how a singer/songwriter and her producer find the track that they want to make from a beautiful song.
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Here's a first listen to three excerpts from Black Light Saints' new EP Impossible Picks ---- "What Happens Next", "Baby Girl" and "Cattle Skull". The record is already getting talked up a lot, both because everybody who's heard it is so into it, and because of the high profiles of the members --- Ephraim Cuellar, Britton Wetherald, and Alex Brandi, not to mention the production by Dan Agosto. More from us in our story about Black Light Saints and from them on their Facebook.
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