I was paired with Sandra and we discussed her interest in framing connections between some of our assignments in the German context through writing and perhaps even a video installation of the work. I believe she was interested in the idea or action of problematizing exoticisms as a common theme for some of the solos, and thus creating a transnational alliance between us.
I was interested in deepening some of my work. A few months ago, my mother moved in with me and I found out that I am pregnant, thus, I have been strongly aware of my position between generations. Thus, the inter-generational nature of the study I did for assignment 4, "alternative translations" seems the most interesting to me to continue at this moment. For my study, each Post Natyam member interpreted some the words describing how to do the dance movement from a padam that I had learned from my first Bharata Natyam guru, Medha Yodh. Our interpretations were unusual, quirky, and at at times subversive. I had planned to thread my favorites of each of our interpretations together into a new version of the padam... thinking about how a new generation might re-interpret and re-purpose this dance that was passed on to me through Medha, from her guru, Balasaraswati.
Additionally I'm creating a new piece in collaboration with a Cambodian American visual artist,
Below is an image of a sculpture we'll be working with:
-->
-->
I was interested in deepening some of my work. A few months ago, my mother moved in with me and I found out that I am pregnant, thus, I have been strongly aware of my position between generations. Thus, the inter-generational nature of the study I did for assignment 4, "alternative translations" seems the most interesting to me to continue at this moment. For my study, each Post Natyam member interpreted some the words describing how to do the dance movement from a padam that I had learned from my first Bharata Natyam guru, Medha Yodh. Our interpretations were unusual, quirky, and at at times subversive. I had planned to thread my favorites of each of our interpretations together into a new version of the padam... thinking about how a new generation might re-interpret and re-purpose this dance that was passed on to me through Medha, from her guru, Balasaraswati.
Additionally I'm creating a new piece in collaboration with a Cambodian American visual artist,
Sayon Syprasoeuth and a Cambodian American dancer, Jack Nguon. In relation to the "alternate translations." I'm thinking it would be interesting to see how Jack might interpret the text in his classical Cambodian dance influenced body. I also have been doing some inter-generational writings that I feel will help inform the piece, either with sound or images.
Themes exploring: pleasure and discomfort of waiting, transformation, life cycle of seed to flower blossoming/birthing, inter-generational (dis)connections
Below is an image of a sculpture we'll be working with:
Sculpture by Sayon Syprasoeuth (our costumes hopefully will be similar variations of this)
Texts to draw from:
Velavare (Padam I learned from Medha Yodh), the gist is about a maiden waiting for her lord. Perhaps the music itself would be interesting to use.
Two poems I've written recently:
love
letter at week 6
My first signs of you were my queasy
belly and your beating heart-
Fast, erratic, a pulsing white light, a
beacon of your existence.
My emotions ran wild.
Your heart in my belly, making it
flutter.
My gasping breath making you falter.
The realization that you were all heart
was so immense…
This tiny light leading you into the
world, before all thought, before all reason, guided only by your inner rhythm.
And as I cradled you in my womb,
Your love, so vast, encompassed
me.
Free-fall at 11 weeks
S/he is tumbling, free-falling except for the pulsing bungee
cord of flesh that connects her to me.
Neither of us holding on with our limbs, connected instead from our
insides out.
There is no light here to see, all is intuited from behind
thinly shut lids.
He does not feel
my singular pain, oblivious to the sacrifices of one,
but instead is tuned into
the rhythms of my breath, the pulsing of my blood,
and the pull of gravity within an ever changing
rotating sphere of existence.
A packed, but organized, freeway flows between us,
where
ancestors riding water buffalo intermix with sturdy caballeros,
and still
others traverse in dusty covered wagons.
None are surprised by each others existence, nor by the occasional
sighting
of never before seen modes of transportation passing at lightening speed.
Testing her strength and agility,
each movement is magnified
in tight quarters.
Falling, twisting, turning until he bounces
against the
soft womb walls in a soft reverberating, rebound.
Our bodies, united together,
share unfathomable mysteries,
that despite our interconnection,
will lead to unavoidable separation.
Feedback:
1. What ideas/images stand out to you, especially ones that might inspire movement or visual images/actions, from...
a. the sculpture
b the week 6 poem
c. the week 11 poem
2. Do you have any thoughts about ways to tie or layer the sculpture, poems and Padam together?
3. Any other thoughts?
(1) sculpture: I'm struck by the ambiguity and complexity of the image. The figure seems abject, sad, even wounded, and the flowers looks like arrows or even a little reminiscent of Madonna-type halos. Martyr-like. At the same time, the flowers imply growth, fruitfulness, abundance.
ReplyDeleteletter 6
phrases I am drawn to -
"My first signs of you were my queasy belly and your beating heart-
Fast, erratic, a pulsing white light"
I like how the metaphors often used to describe romantic love (butterflies in one's stomach, etc.) are translated to a mother-baby relationship and literally manifested in your your physicality. I think the physical realities of pregnancy (not romanticized) could provide interesting fodder for movement.
"the realization that you were all heart"
"And as I cradled you in my womb,
Your love, so vast, encompassed me."
The reciprocity and unexpected switching of scale here -- you wouldn't expect a little raspberry to encompass a grown adult -- is compelling.
letter 11
"connected from the inside out"
-in both letters there is something about the relationship of inside and outside, of turning inside out and outside in, that suggests movement to me.
"ancestors riding water buffalo intermix with sturdy caballeros,
and still others traverse in dusty covered wagons."
-I like the mixed heritage suggested here without explicitly naming it
"despite our interconnection,
will lead to unavoidable separation."
-I like this mostly because it's so padam-like to emphasize union and separation. Again I'm delighted at the literalness of what is usually metaphoric.
(2) here are some connections and questions:
How does the contradiction of the sculpture connect to your pregnancy? Pain and beauty? Growth and stasis/waiting? Is there a way that the sculptural elements could be added to your body performatively in a way that conveys this? For instance, asking Jack or the audience to stick the flowers in your costume, and you responding physically?
The clearest thematic connection between Medha's padam and the raspberry writings is the padam sensibility. One possibility might be to use the classical padam but treat the beloved as the raspberry. Or you could rework your writings so that they fit a padam structure. Or mash up elements of your writings and the padam to make a new piece of poetry. I think that having Jack translate the classical padam to his own physicality and vocabulary could be really interesting, but I'm wondering how Jack relates to the pregnancy imagery. How would you imagine participating in the performance? Would you speak the poem? Or would there be parallel performances by yourself and Jack happening to the same sound?
(3) Really rich material! Just want to acknowledge that there's a LOT going on here: your relationship with Medha, the content of the padam, your relationship with your mom and the raspberry, the sculpture, Jack's voice and artistic identity as a Khmer classical dancer. I think it might not be necessary to address every one of these components fully, for the Jan 24 performance. And if you depart from the Queering Abhinaya theme and original study, no big deal.