Thursday, November 25, 2010

A duet for one: dancing with virtual Sandra

Recently Sandra developed a new solo with video projection that was filmed outdoors in Munich.  The video projection intercuts footage of her dancing with academic theory about exoticism.  Sandra's solo was performed at the IGNITE! contemporary dance festival in Delhi and served as the opening section of "Tell Me, Sister" (see projection solo in progress), which I performed instead of Shyamala.

While in Delhi, Sandra and I discussed that it might be interesting to repeat her projection material throughout the course of the larger show, but with different performers doing the live dance.  So for this study I choreographed myself in relation to her, drawing on her original movement material.  For this version, I envision that rather than having the theory present, it might be nice for the sections of writing to be replaced by a simple white background.

password: "bier tent"

video: Sandra Chatterjee
live dance: Cynthia Ling Lee
direction: Shyamala Moorty

Feedback Questions:
(1) What do you see as being the relationship between myself and Sandra's projection?  How does the relationship evolve?
(2) How do you imagine that this version colors, shifts, and changes Sandra's original version?
(3) How do you think this material relates to other material from our process and to the larger show?
(4) What kind of sound/music do you think would support the piece?
(5) Is this compelling enough material to keep working on?  Suggestions for further development?
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3 comments:

  1. Anjali Tata-HudsonDecember 6, 2010 at 6:34 PM

    I see you as another aspect of Sandra in the beginning. Perhaps her alter ego or shadow self or vice versa. However, as it unfolds I see two separate women in love and longing for each other. I haven't seen Sandra's original version so I can't comment on how it has shifted. It is subversive if we are depicting love in separation and longing between two women and opens up if these women were courtesans and if there are accounts of women engaging in same sex relations. Or if we are relating it to the contemporary woman's story, how might negative experiences with men affect a woman's sexuality and agency?

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  2. Cynthia Ling LeeDecember 6, 2010 at 6:36 PM

    Thanks for your interpretations, Anj! You can see Sandra's original video here: http://postnatyam.blogspot.com/2010/12/tell-me-sister-projection-november-2010.html

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  3. SandraDecember 7, 2010 at 2:31 AM

    I like the relationship that is established, especially how the directionality of the movements in the diagonal somehow extend the space from the screen onto the stage and back.

    I somehow lose you when you move out of the projection. I think I would experiment with staying within the projection square, or, alternatively, move out beyond the stage.

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