For this assignment I was paired with Cynthia who helped me think the through choreographic ideas and the trajectory of a new piece that I was collaborating on with visual artist, Sayon Syprasoeth, and dancer, Jack Nguoun, for a closing reception of "Roots and Branches," an exhibit featuring contemporary Cambodian visual artists at the Greenly Art Space in Long Beach, CA.
Here is a video of our performance at the closing.
Password: bloom
Yearning to Bloom from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.
1. What drew you in? Or what did you enjoy about the performance?
2. What would you like to see developed more?
3. How did you interpret our use of the masks? You may not be able to tell, but they had gold on them to mimick the sculpture's texture. Did it bother you that they are primarily white? Any ideas about how we might use them more effectively (or not at all).
4. How did you feel about the interaction of Bharatanatyam, Khmer Classical dance, pedestrian movement, and poetry? Did anything seem too mime like?
5. How did you feel about the use of the various music styles, especially the padam "Velavare" (which is the second music).
6. What aspects, if any, do you feel might read as "Queering Abhinaya" ?
7. Do you have any other ideas to offer for growing future performances? In particular, are there any ways that we could have interacted with the sculpture that you would have been interested to see and that might add to the meaning of the piece? And did the trajectory feel complete, or do you think something more is needed?
Here is a video of our performance at the closing.
Password: bloom
Yearning to Bloom from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.
1. What drew you in? Or what did you enjoy about the performance?
2. What would you like to see developed more?
3. How did you interpret our use of the masks? You may not be able to tell, but they had gold on them to mimick the sculpture's texture. Did it bother you that they are primarily white? Any ideas about how we might use them more effectively (or not at all).
4. How did you feel about the interaction of Bharatanatyam, Khmer Classical dance, pedestrian movement, and poetry? Did anything seem too mime like?
5. How did you feel about the use of the various music styles, especially the padam "Velavare" (which is the second music).
6. What aspects, if any, do you feel might read as "Queering Abhinaya" ?
7. Do you have any other ideas to offer for growing future performances? In particular, are there any ways that we could have interacted with the sculpture that you would have been interested to see and that might add to the meaning of the piece? And did the trajectory feel complete, or do you think something more is needed?
1. I was drawn in by the use of the light/heart and shadows cast on the wall, the scratching, the image of stretching in the womb and jack emerging, and your poetry.
ReplyDelete2. The circle section of Velavare seemed a bit short to me (I also couldn't really tell that the petals were coming from your belly on the video, but perhaps that was the camera angle.) The relationship between you, Jack, and the sculpture could be developed further (there are times when the sculpture seems really important, and other times when it pretty much sits in the background. I found myself wondering who/what the sculpture was more than for you and Jack, whose roles and mother and baby seemed clear.
3. The masks seemed to make you more sculpture-like visually and also made the piece less personal/more abstract. I thought the mask probably hid a lot of your facial expression, and I was a little distracted at how it messed up the back of your hair. Jack's use of head movement animated his mask in a more expressive manner. It didn't bother me that they were white (I didn't associate the whiteness with race, if that's what your question means). If you keep them, I would ask how you can use angika abhinaya to achieve the same depth and nuance of expression afforded by your face.
4. I liked the combination, though I wouldn't have minded a little more BN primarily because of the inclusion of the music from the padam. Nothing struck me as too mime-like.
5.The music styles seemed logical given the dance forms referenced. I did notice that they contrasted with each other more than the movement, perhaps because the Carnatic and Khmer music sounded classical, whereas the movement was more experimental while drawing on tradition. The inclusion of the padam music made me wonder why you chose not to draw on traditional ways of interpreting padam through gesture and facial expression.
6. I think it draws on and experiments with abhinaya, particularly sringara through the lens of motherly love or a mother-child relationship. I'm not sure I would say it queers abhinaya, except possibly in the sense of cultural queerness.
7. As I mentioned, perhaps clarifying the sculpture's role or roles throughout the piece would be helpful, as it is a very large visual presence -- another body in the space. At first it seems like a version of you (since it has the heart-light inside), though some of the poses you do with it could position it as lover, child, another version of you. After that initial moment, I'm not sure what the sculpture signifies. On an abstract level I see how it contains meaning (blooming/growth, pain) that are elements of the pregnancy. Regarding the trajectory, generally I enjoyed it, but I got a little confused/less engaged towards the end of the piece, starting from when you removed the flowers from the sculpture. Why did you suddenly get tired/old at the end? Are you dying? Or are you a baby/fetus now yourself? It was a somewhat abrupt shift for me.