Connecting in times of Physical Distancing: Little Joys

Wait we already were physically distant...

But now it's heightened...As many of us are shuttered up at home due to trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19, PNC has been communicating mostly over What's App to keep in quick and supportive contact.  We were interested in keeping our process going but Cynthia is the only one actually able to make dances right now due to other obligations like writing and a kid.

So we decided to give Cynthia idea invitations to make movement.  So, here goes....


I am inspired by Sandra's facebook and Instagram posts.
Sandra has been posting beautiful photos that she titles "Little Joys" that show the scenic beauty and details around her her home and out her window, in appreciation of being where we are.

Cynthia, make some movement inspired by Sandra's photos!

Anyone else who wants to join, post a link to your video in the comments... we would also love to see folks’ own “little joys” photos-a nice way to join if you don’t consider yourself a mover

Cynthia's movement response:

Sandra's photo that Cynthia responded to:



Other "Little Joys" photos from Sandra:

  

Back to the Beautiful LBC, climactic moment

I have been working for the past month with Cal State Long Beach students to craft a performance piece inspired by Post Natyam's Back to the Beautiful installation based on water, borders and memory.

We will be shooting footage of the dancers in the cemented San Gabriel river which has huge wall like sides at the end of this week.  The river was cemented to control it from flooding but we also have major droughts in Southern CA, so the water is often just a trickle.  The cementing of walls and controlling of the path of the water feels like a strong metaphor for the border wall that is being erected and the controlling of the paths of the real migration stories that some of the cast members have experienced, including deportation.

Here I share the climax of the piece based on two migration stories from the performers themselves.  This follows a windy migration section, and a militaristic wall section:


Fight the Fear, Draft from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.
password b2blbc

Note:
The bucket of water that the singer is at will be up left on a slightly raised platform - she may actually be in it.

The rest of the performers will be center stage.

The performers are still learning their lines and so you may see them reading from a paper.

Here is the script:  black is spoken, purple is sung...

Walls.

--

Ahhhh (looking in water)

--

My whole life, I’ve had walls in my face.

--

Fluid memory (elbow in?)

--

There’s just always a wall, always a fear, a layer to tear in order to be

--

ooooooo (water to face or hair dip)

--

Devuelveme mi rostro, I exist, I am not a piece of paper

--

Devuelveme mi rostro (leg moving in)

--

Undocumented?  I am here, working hard.

--

Aqui (other leg)

--

I am here. 

--

Hmmmm (continuing underneath, )

--

But there’s always that fear

I fight the fear

Always that fear…

I fight the fear.

Always that fear…

I fight the fear!

Always that fear…

I fight the fear!

Always that fear…

I fight the fear!

Always that fear…

I fight the fear! I fight the fear - I fight the fear - I fight the fear! 

sing/scream!

Questions:
1.  What are you drawn to? what do you experience/notice?

2.  Is there anything else you could imagine the singer doing with the water?  (after this she will use it to affect the other dancers in the next section and then will start the passing of bottles through the performers and into the audience)

3.  Anything you would adjust/change?

4.  Any other thoughts?

Letters to Maud (from Shyamala and Babli)- Babli's edits

SHYAMALA'S LETTER

May 8, 1915/2019

Dear Maud,

You look stunning! I wish I could pull off an outfit like that! Wherever did you get it from? Part harlot, part orientalist imagination…you are a master of fulfilling people’s fantasies. And what a femme fatale. I mean I’m a femme and I feel kind of fatal when I think of you carrying the severed head of John the Baptist on a platter…did you really kiss it?  Well, I suppose I would kiss it too if it were the head of patriarchy that I could sever and kiss goodbye.

I keep thinking of all these men swooning after you and your spectacular performance of Salome - I suppose they prefer beheading to castration but I really don’t understand the hype around Salome. The craze around you on the other hand is another story, … though I’ve heard that you were not into men, but lavish your attentions on your female secretary? 

So why do you do it then – cater to their fantasies? Are you in it for the money, for the fame? Did you feel the raw seductive power of your bare skin? The power to behead men? Or do you feel liberated wearing nothing but pearls? I always thought pearls were for the conservative type, but no, you brought them back around, like the liberal woman that you are.  Always breaking stereotypes aren’t you? Breaking them and making them!  

Well, I know you’re busy suing against the “Cult of the Clitoris” defamation. But, I do hope you write back. Maybe we could get to know each other better. I’ve heard you’ve toured India and have an interest in Indian dance. I could help with that.  

See you in the theater,

Shyamala

-->
BABLI'S LETTER

Darling Maudie,

So, how was the garden party? I am sure you were the perfect hostess, just the quality Verna adores in you- and I am sure you looked stunning.

I wonder how it felt for you to host The Ladies Committee (...) for (the) Relief of Jewish Children from Germany.  I mean you lived in Germany – and you know German, right? Of course you were there much earlier, even before the Weimar Republic, when Berlin was just awakening into its anarchist and subversive glory of the early 20th century. When the horrible times to come could not be foreseen yet. Do you remember the amazing avant-garde movements and artists and subversive political cabarets? I wonder- did you ever meet Anita Berber?

And wasn’t it in Berlin that you became a ‘barefoot dancer’, and where you saw the production of Wilde’s Salomé by Max Reinhardt which inspired your Visions of Salomé? Berlin is all over your career! I guess MP Billing did his homework before he linked your anarchist sexuality to Germany.

I mean accusing you of being a German-sympathizer, a sadist AND a lesbian all in one breath?

True, you really were a femme fatale.  Bold. And lesbian. And it looks like you were really obsessed with pearls. To be frank – I kind of hate pearls. Well most pearls. Your style really isn’t my cup of tea.

But I digress. Where were we? Oh yes, the trial.

Tell me, what were you thinking denying your own identity and your lover by suing Billing for defamation? And what was that about Lord Douglas testifying against you for Billing’s case? I mean, wasn’t he Wilde’s lover?  So much for queer solidarity – between the ways you treated Verna and Douglas treated you – so disappointing. One could never take queer solidarity for granted I guess.

Well, goes to show that not every queer icon is to be admired automatically. So, why do I even write to you, a queer ancestor I cannot respect?

Sandra

SOURCES:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2yHoEY0VdQ

https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/women/willing-to-be-thrilling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Alfred_Douglas#Libel_actions

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/oscar-wilde-maud-allan-cult-of-the-clitoris-black-book-first-world-war-a8369811.html

http://www.sxpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/article-douglas-sanders.pdf

Spectators Watching "The Vision of Salome"

Today Shy and I developed some material consisting of different spectators watching an invisible Maud Allan dance The Vision of Salome.  Currently, we're imagining that there would be spotlights that fade in and out so that certain spectators are highlighted at different times, with some overlap between the characters.  Each of us would play two different characters: Verna, an aristocratic white guy, a desiring South Asian femme, and a disgusted South Asian femme.  We would probably extend the desiring South Asian femme section to make it overlap more with the disgusted femme at the end.

Password for all: "Maud"

Cyn as Tophat Guy

Shy as Verna
Cyn as Desiring Femme (inspired by Babli!)

Shy as Disgusted Femme
Here's the script for when each character appears in relation to the text:
[Tophat] To Maud Allan, swaying like a passion flower in the last steps of the Seven veils, a giant negro brought upon a great salver Jokanaan.  [Verna joins] Her eyes half closed, the dancer raised by its dank hair the ghastly prize of Herodias’ daughter.  She leaned towards its lips.  Gently the severed head touched her wrists, and there shot through her a terrible tremor, a shivering of the soul.  [Tophat fades] Upon her white flesh were the stains, dark crimson clots.  [Verna fades, Desiring Femme starts] It was blood.  Her body rigid as though carved in marble, the dancer slowly forced her eyes to the face she held aloft.  It was the face of a man not long since dead.  (Disgusted femme starts). As one from whom life passes very quickly, she crumpled to the floor. (Desiring femme fades) From her hands dropped the head.  It rolled upon her breast and fell beside her, leaving upon her white body a crimson trail.

Performing Maud, Performing the Spectator (Zoom Meeting)

We had a fun Zoom meeting where we did some very raw improvisations using the reviews of Maud Allan's performance, rotating the roles of dancer/reader/spectator.  After each improvisation, the spectator did a movement playback of the dancer's improvisation.

Password for all: Maud
Cyn improv

Shy playback

Shy improv

Babli playback
Babli improv
Cyn playback



We also did three improvisations to the same texts in which we performed as a spectator, rather than as Maud Allan herself.  For mine, I ended up switching between the spectator and Maud a bit.

Cyn as spectator
Babli as spectator
Shy as spectator

Maud Stamp

Folks were interested in part of a previous exploration, where I had Maud on my legs and my torso was cut off in the image.  So here's two super quick improvisations with Maud on my legs but showing my whole body.  Just to see if it also works with a larger frame (and thus live).

Password:  Maud

Footwork exploration 1 from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


Password: Maud

Footwork exploration 2 from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.



Questions: 
1.  Is seeing my face distracting?  (I didn't have a strong/clear sense of emotion)

2.  Does this hold any interesting moments or ideas to develop for you?

3.  Any other thoughts?

Triple Projection explorations

So this set up of the cloth in two layered panels is actually part of the set for a section of my new show for youth "The Summ of All Things."  I just couldn't resist trying out the projections on it.  I like the feeling of setting up an environment like the salon feel, and also thought of the possibility of having each of us moving in a different area:  in front, between, or behind.  Or of us manually creating the shape of it, or moving the shape of it, so two people are holding it while one is interacting with the projection and it can shift. 

If you are at all interested in this, I can set it up for our zoom call and you all can maybe suggest things for me to try out.  If we want to use some variation of this set up, we can decide if we want to use this cloth or invest in a new color, or perhaps two different colors to make the layers stand out more.  If we want a new one, I can try to get one before our residency.

Below are three explorations with the cloth:  1. just projection, 2. improvising behind the back most panel,  and 3. improvising in the middle between the front and back panels.  I thought I had some exploration in front of the first panel but I can't find it.  Probably they would look more interesting if I wear a lighter color. 


1.  Triple projection
password: Maud

Sins of such wonderful flesh triple projection from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

2. Improvising in back
password: Maud

Triple projection improvisation, back layer from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

3.  Improvising in middle 
password: Maud


Triple projection, middle layer from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


Questions:
1.  Any interest in this kind of set up?
2.  Any thoughts on what to do with it? 

What do I desire, adding audio and visuals

 I was inspired to make a sound recording for the "What do I desire" poem I wrote about Salome and Draupadi.  I could imagine this perhaps as a duet, two of us connected by a sheer sari that wraps and unwraps and intertwines us.  Note that I was fooling around with a shruti box generator and couldn't record it too well, it doesn't sound like it sounded coming directly from the generator, and the transitions are a bit rougher, but I like the idea of it!

password: desire



And here I've overlaid one of the video projection improvisations that I was playing with and find that it could be related to the poem, though for a group piece, I like the duet idea better.

password: wonderful


Questions:
1.  Are you more interested in the projection with live body here or in the reviews study "Maud and Me"?
2.  Other ideas for enhancing the audio of this poem?
3. Is this piece related to the Maud Allan work we've been doing or is it too much of a tangent?
4. Any other thoughts?

"Chasing ghosts," Reviews Exploration

Maud and Me

I made an audio mash up of her reviews (text is below) and improvised with my live body and her still projection, as well as my live body with her moving projection.  This is edited together the most interesting parts.  Note that sometimes I was improvising without the sound so the rhythm doesn't always match up. 

  
password: wonderful


Wonderful Flesh Experiments from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


This is the moving projection I created to the sound score.  It was too busy to insert the live body with in all places but there was one spot in particular that I liked.  I put it here in case it's useful some other way.  

password:  wonderful



 Here's the text for the audio, a mash-up of the reviews:

sins of her wonderful flesh

sins of her wonderful flesh

such delicious embodiment might win forgiveness with sins of her wonderful flesh. 

sins of her wonderful flesh

sins of her wonderful flesh

swayed by passion, her mouth parched for kisses with sins of her wonderful flesh. 

sins of her wonderful flesh

sins of her wonderful flesh

Eastern femininity, writhing body, voluptuous and wonderful flesh. 

sins of her wonderful flesh. 

sins of her wonderful flesh. 

slender and lissome, exquisite ecstasy, perspiring and wonderful flesh

sins of her wonderful flesh

sins of her wonderful flesh

One moment she is vampire…next she is lynx, swayed by such wonderful flesh

sins of her wonderful flesh. 

sins of her wonderful flesh. 

wildly jerking, swaying with passion, blossom into wonderful flesh

sins of her wonderful flesh. 

sins of her wonderful flesh. 

Her laughs and her sighs, she shrinks and she vaults, with sins of her wonderful flesh. 

sins of her wonderful flesh  

Questions:
1.  What parts do you find most compelling of the projection with live body?
2.  How do you read or interpret the live body, projection and audio coming together?
3. What other ideas come to mind?

Could Have Been You, Borders Resurfacing Offshoot

A super long time ago, responding to Cyn's assignment:  http://postnatyam.blogspot.com/2016/03/reimagining-citizenship-cynthia.html,  I made a little choreopoem that I now call "not knowing of the taking":
 
https://vimeo.com/185585301 
 password: citizenship

In researching the 10 little song, I realized there was more than one version of the song and in particular it was also used in racist ways against the African American community in addition to the Native American community.  So,  I invited Iyatunde Foyalan to work with me to bring in the African American voice more visibly.  Below is a draft of the new piece.  I imagine it could stand on it's own, or follow not knowing of the taking" if both are filmed more similarly.

 password: 10 little

"Could Have Been You," Work-in-Progress, 12-13-18 from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


Questions:
1.  What do you take away from "Could have been you?"

2. do you see the two poems as working one after another:  "not knowing of the taking" then "Could have been you?" 

2.  Can "Could have been you" stand on its own?  if so, is it strange that I dissapear?

3.  Does part two of "Could have been you" where Iyatunde speaks solo feel like an important addition?  Can the first part stand on its own?

4.   Do you have any questions or confusions?

5. Any other ideas for further tightening and strengthening it?

What do I desire? A little free write

you call me the pious one, 
you see me as the temptress

you are entranced my beauty, 
you applaud my agile limbs

you gamble with my life, 
you offer me your kingdom

you snatch my endless sari, 
you lust for flesh beneath my veils

you strip me of my dignity, 
you blame me for your trespasses

I am Draupadi, 
I am Salome

What do I desire?

I became curious about the intersections of these two figures, Draupadi and Salome.  They seem parallel and opposites.  This is a beginning exploration, keeping in mind my interest in who has agency, who is the subject and who is the object etc.

subjectobject scores

Inspired by the following questions, here are a couple of scores I imagined. The first is for the audience and the second is for 3 performers.

Questions: 

-how are we asking the audience to participate in desire? -can we ask the audience to participate in desire?

-who is the subject and who is the object?

-does the audience have a voice?

-what can the audience take home? (pearls?)

-do the participants ever change roles? Does dancer become camera person etc.?

Score for audience

Preparation:

Tape off 3-4 play areas of different shapes and sizes, inside the taped area invitingly arrange cushions, 7 silky scarves (aka dance of the 7 veils that Salome was said to have done), and bowls of pearls (some strung and some loose).   For each play area place a video camera on a tripod at varying distances from it.  

Installation:

During 20-ish min time,  while audience is roaming freely, play music that has bits of the publicity about Maud Allan in it.  

Prompt for entering the play area:  

        An invitation to play!

Play!

Decorate!

Feel the textures!

Take Selfies!

Enjoy!  

Upon entering you are giving your permission to be video-taped.

Feel free to interact with the camera, or not, in any way you wish including blocking or revealing what you want to be seen. 

At any time you wish, you may step out of the area or take a turn at the camera or just watch from the inside or outside.

Prompt for viewing through the camera:  

An invitation for mindful viewing

As you look through the camera, notice the frame around the edges

Compare what you see through the camera and what you can see beyond

Be aware of how you position your own body to look through the camera.

Imagine being an outside viewer and notice how you are adding to the picture.

Be mindful if others are waiting a turn and you may choose to take a turn in the dance and play area or move to the outside to watch.  

Score for 3 performers

Set a circle performance area with cushions, 7 scarves, bowls of pearls

Set a dancer/viewer area outside the performance area looking in

Set a camera inside the performance area looking out and live feed projected on scarves 

Set a text reading area outside the perimeter of the performance area looking in

Round 1: Original

Perform text, movement and video as originally created in the 2014  group study

Round 2:  Text remix

Camera person chooses one item to decorate another performer.  That performer moves to the camera position and the camera person takes the other performers’ place.

reader can read part or all of the text and dancer improvises in response, using 90percent of the original movement vocabulary.  The camera person follows the dancer.  

Round 3:  Movement remix

Camera person chooses one item to decorate another performer.  That performer moves to the camera position and the camera person takes the other performers’ place.

Dancer improvises using 90percent of the original movement vocabulary, the reader follows repeating all or parts of the text, fragmenting and repeating, the camera person responds to the dancer, and occasionally moves over to the text reader.  

Round 4: Camera remix

Camera can choose who or what to film, the dancer responds to the camera using 90 percent of the original movement vocabulary but is also able to use the scarves or other means to block or modify the viewing experience.  The text is read in fragments and even the syllables are fragmented and extended.  

Border Sawal Jawab - refilmed!

Here's a new version of Border Sawal Jawab, shot by Meena and performed by Shy and myself.

Border Sawal Jawab from Cynthia Ling Lee on Vimeo.

Shy's Borders Resurfacing Creative Response #6: Water Ritual Remix

This is a remix of Babli's and my water rituals, taking into account some of the themes (especially feet, fences, ritual and words (I didn't find a place for dots because I feel lines is closer to borders though I could imagine how this could be a different thing with dots and instructions on or under the dots)

AT ENTRANCE invite folks to remove shoes (optional - would folks do this?)

Projection:  One of Meena’s loops of water running down and reverse up a wall at or near entrance.  

Step 1 - Ritual footwash There is a large bucket/Tub of river water with a scoop set up, as well as an empty bucket/tub. (or we can keep this handwash if you think folks wouldn’t do it, especially cause it’s cold mid-november)

Audience instructions:

Foot wash

Take the scoop and scoop out water out from the one bucket/tub

Go over to the second bucket/Tub and let the water run over each of your feet into the emptier tub 

Remembering and honoring: Our bodies are about 60 percent water!  

Step 2 - bottling: There is a row of buckets with water and empty little bottles that can be closed.

Audience instructions:

Bottling

Fill one of the little bottles with water.

About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water.

Step 3: Memory/label. ]

Audience instructions:

Memories

Hold the bottle. Remember 2 situations:

1) A memory of you or others trying to cross a fence, border, or river

and

2) a particularly beautiful moment of spending time at a river (preferably Saalach or Salzach)

For each of the memories find one word that captures the memory.

Go to one of the tables in the room  and write your two words on a piece of paper and attach it to the bottle. 

 (NOTE:  tables should be in various places so that the lines in next section start in different places too)

Step 4 - Lines (Note 1:  this direction may be on portable slips of paper that audience members can take with them and follow the parts as you need.  Note 2: On the ground inside are curved intersecting lines - could be of tape or chalk or washable paint etc)

Audience instructions:

Exchange

 Take this slip of paper and your bottle.   Find a line on the ground and follow it with your feet.  If you come across another person on the same tape path, make a pattern with your feet together and your bottles.  Then exchange names, bottles, and river stories.   And continue on your journey. Repeat if you come across other people until you get to the end of the line.  

Step 5: - Bridges (note: this direction would be at the end of first line they followed and once again on a slip of paper they can take with them)

Audience instructions:

Bridges

Take this slip of paper and your current bottle.  Walk between or over the lines on the floor (never on them)  If you come across another person, you may create a bridge by connecting your bodies (may be hands, shoulders, backs, feet, elbows) so that someone else may go under it, or if you come across someone else’s bridge you may find a way under it.  Continue until you have made or gone under at least 4 bridges or until you wish to stop walking between and over the lines.  

Step 6:  (perhaps this part is in the final theatrical happening? )

Audience instructions:

Sharing

go to one of the two standing mikes in the room, and read the words on your current bottle into the microphone.  You may also share any part of the story you remember that is associated with those words.  

Questions:  

 1.  how much of this would you imagine folks really doing?  I imagine it with feet since that is one of the words, but hand washing is definitely easier if we want to do that instead?  Also, if people prefer not to touch, do you think I worded it in such a way that would give them an out?

2.   what do you think folks will get out of this experience?

3.  how can we bring in the theme of back to the beautiful even more to it?  how can this encourage hidden stories/histories to emerge? 

4.  Do we need to simplify even more?  if so, what do you think the most essential elements are?

5.  Any other thoughts, ideas?

Shy's creative response #5.2 Borders Resurfacing: Words not Teeth

This is a re-write of a poem I wrote for the Familial Migration documents assignment.  I would love feedback and am also interested in moving it into my body soon!

Words NOT Teeth

I delicately examine my birth certificate, a frail ink-stained, yellowish paper.

My Father’s name squeezes itself neatly into the tiny box, whose creator didn’t anticipate the Jagarlapudis with our plentiful syllables.

His birthplace:  India.

I imagine the huge watery border he crossed and wonder how he was received when he arrived with only $26, a student visa, and his dreams.

The box for “color or race” is not filled out.  

I smirk as I observe that it contains a single horizontal line as if to mark the very category itself irrelevant.

43 years later, my year-and-a-half old son, soon to get his passport, perches curiously on a stool, pointing at the camera flash.

We love the smiley picture, but the elderly black man who runs the dingy store warns us that the rules have changed:  no smiling.

We choose the one where he looks puzzled instead.   

He is wearing his favorite color, orange, unaware of how this color is infamously linked to the 45th president of the United States.  Unaware of the president’s travel bans.  Unaware that the world’s borders are tightening and that he may never experience the freedom that I have enjoyed with my American passport and my Overseas Indian Citizenship.

This ¾ desi child who knows more Spanish than Telugu, who loves Salsa as well as Bollywood music, and who, like any almost two-year-old, simultaneously tests boundaries and clings to security.  

He knows you don’t need a big wall to feel safe.  But, like many other almost two-year-olds, he still needs practice with using words instead of teeth.  

1.  I tried a little reference to water and borders in the 6th line, not sure if it's enough?

2.  I tried to make the ending a bit more complex while still being a political statement.  What do you think of this ending?  In case you want to compare to the original:  https://postnatyam.blogspot.com/2017/03/shys-borders-resurfacing-response-3.html

3.  Any other thoughts?