Back to Rehearsal Time!
TrioDance Collective has the beautiful opportunity to kick off our second season with a three-day SILO residency at DanceNOW NYC’s Kirkland Farm in Pennsylvania. We are thrilled to be able to get out of the city for some concentrated time to work on new and existing material with our new family of dancers. We’re off to Silo tomorrow morning, and I cannot wait.
Also, I’ll be showing work here this fall (plus a special spring date!)
September 18- Triskelion Arts Center’s Collaborations in Dance Festival (Conversations on Interiority, a collaboration between myself and my brother James Diewald who is an architect).
September 19- Fertile Ground at Green Space in Queens (Cheek to the Light)
October 24- WAXworks (Cheek to the Light)
December 3-5- TDC Presents “Second” at Triskelion Arts Center in Williamsburg
March 10, 2011- Conversations in Dance at the Flea Theater
Lovely footage and news to come. Be well, all!
rehearsals, showings, and research
1. cheek to the light rehearsal from this week.
2. We are showing this work in progress this Saturday at Steps on Broadway’s Performance Lab Series at 8pm. Do Come.
3. I have also started research on hopper sketches. I want to finish one by second. Probably this one:
The light on the legs, the grip on the coffee cup, the chair facing, the removal of one glove, the fur on her coat, the round table, the repetition of reflected lights. Beautiful.
clean slate/new dancing
Yesterday, I met with a few of our TDC dancers to start work on “cheek to the light.” I’ve posted rehearsal footage, and (dancers) the text is as follows:
Breathe
Breathe from the elbow
Push the air down
Like you have a jewel on your chest
Rings on your fingers
A Thread lifting your head to the ceiling
No weight on that working leg
If there was a droplet of water on your shoulder, it would drip right down to the tips of your fingers.
Four zippers on your body-
here
here
here
and here
reach for her
reach for him
take off
like a pendulum
The upper back is like a waterfall
you should be able to see your pinkie fingers
relax the fingers
like flower petals
like bullets
thumbs in
don’t break the wrist
up to come down
drawing a line through the body
opening a door
stirring something thick
like you’ve been there for a million years
like you’re balancing a teacup on your heel
drawing a line up the leg
drawing a circle on the floor
elbows lifted
head up
you could hold a sheet of paper between them
here I am
I am here
almost like an embrace
cheek to the light
Upcoming Engagements
The next couple weeks are filling up with lovely opportunities:
August 14- STEPS on Broadway Performance Lab Showing, “Cheek to the Light”
August 31-September 2- TrioDance Collective DanceNOW(NYC) Silo Artist Residency at Kirkland Farm
September 18- Collaborations in Dance Festival at Triskelion Arts Center, Featuring a new collaboration between myself and my brother, architect James Diewald.
September 19- Fertile Ground at Green Space, “Cheek to the Light”
Looking Forward to it!!! And now, making the big and very stressful move from brooklyn to manhattan!
All Kinds of TrioNews!
TrioDance Collective has had a busy few weeks! We finished our inaugural performance (aptly named “First”) on June 26, and were thrilled with our packed house for both performances. Our final callbacks for our second season are tomorrow. We’ve been able to meet so many wonderfully present and talented dancers through our Summer Workshop Audition Series, and we hope to finalize our ensemble tomorrow. This is an exciting and harrowing task, but I can’t wait to introduce our humble dance family to you!
In other TrioNews, we booked our theatre for our next show (aptly named “Second”). We will be presenting our next full length performance December 3-5 at Triskelion Arts Center. They were so accomodating and generous for our last show, and we’re eager to continue our relationship with them.
Also, TrioDance Collective is doing a three day residency at DanceNOW NYC’s Silo at Kirkland Farm in Pennsylvania. This is an opportunity to work intensively, unfettered from the anxiety and obligations of the city. Also, it lets us build a rapport with our dancers so that we can work with trustfully and economically once we really crack down in rehearsals come September!
In Barbie Diewald news, I’m working on an excerpt from my next ballet “Cheek to the Light” to show at the STEPS on Broadway Perfomance Lab! This will definitely be a work in progress, but it’s a great opportunity to show work and get feedback in a beautiful space.
habit, technique, memory
I’m working on anew piece called “Cheek To The Light” that looks into the relationship I had with classical training as a child. I want to excavate that relationship with dance at its most heated point. I can remember feeling most connected to it when I was about 14 years old, rehearsing for a Tchaikovsky piece at Chicago Festival Ballet….and it’s so odd, I’ve never felt that passionate about a lover or artistic undertaking since. Now, ten years later, I want to answer some questions:
What about that prescribed technique MOVED me so much?
Why, besides the obvious repetition did classicism work its way so deeply into my body? into my heart?
I’m interested in technical integrity, yes. Also, I’m interested in ritual (especially the twisting of hair into a bun for some reason. it is an image that sticks with me)….and HABIT. What about bad habits makes them BAD? There’s a difference between dangerous/unhealthy habits in dance and mere affectation or anatomical limits. I want to use the affectations and anatomical limits I struggled with (and those of my dancers) to establish a new vocabulary that will turn into something good, interesting, honest, beautiful. I also want to look into images teachers and choreographers use in class and rehearsal (cheek to the light, like balancing a tea cup on your heel, like you have jewels on your chest, so a water droplet could drip from your shoulder to your fingertips).
For some reason, I am married to the idea that at least part of this piece is performed to “class music.” The kind of piano music an accompaniest plays in class, sometimes drawn from ballet and opera scores, sometimes original compositions. The music is often so stark, it allows for much interpretation.
My dancers will also be speaking in this work. Yay! I’m letting my two worlds collide here, and i hope the result speals well.
At any rate, TrioDance Collective will be presenting “Cheek To The Light” in December, paired with new pieces by Jessie and Emily, and we have our final audition for the upcoming season today. I’m excited to know the bodies and people I have to work with! It’s always hard for me to start work on a piece when I don’t know who I’m using.
We have an informal showing of “Cheek to the Light” in process at the STEPS on Broadway performance lab ib August 14, so I need to get on this piece very soon. Rehearsal footage and information about out new cast of TDC dancers to come.
A couple of excerpts (HD coming soon!)
I am so grateful to have been able to share TDC’s premiere with so many supportive people and fantastic dancers. Thank You, Thank You! I have posted a couple of video excerpts while I work on my fully edited HD versions. Please enjoy!
First one down.
Many, Many Thanks to everyone who helped make our show a success this weekend. We had a full theatre both nights, and the run went very smoothly. I’ll be adding video from the performance soon if you weren’t able to see the show.
I’m not quite ready to let go of the ensemble I had for “First,” so my four ladies and I are going to work on a collaborative site-specific piece for Brooklyn Bridge in July.
Our final audition in our workshop series in July 14 at Triskelion Arts Center. Registration is at 1:00, and the audition will begin promptly at 1:30. Email triodancecollective@gmail.com to reserve a slot!
first.
TrioDance Collective Presents
FIRST.
Our Inaugural Performance in New York City, featuring 3 premieres by 3 emerging New York Choreographers.
Honey- Emily Jeffries
Albedo- Barbie Diewald
Beyond The Monolithic Black- Jessie Cosentino
Please Join Us!
JUNE 25 and 26 (Friday and Saturday) at 8pm. The show runs appx. 1 Hour.
At: TRISKELION ARTS CENTER, 118 N. 11th St. in Williamsburg.
Directions:
Take the L to Bedford Avenue. Walk north along Bedford 4 blocks to N. 11th. St. Take left onto N. 11th Street. 118 is on your left just over a block down N. 11th, between Berry and Wythe. You’re at the right place if fhe sign over the door says OFFICE and beneath it BOTTLING CENTER.
Tickets are $5.
Email TrioDanceCollective@gmail.com for reservations.
the mortal muse.
anne carson has executed a gorgeous translation of Sappho’s fragments, “If Not, Winter.” They date back to 630 B.C. and today, I find them impossibly beautiful and moving. Of nine books of songs Sappho has said to have written, none of the music is extant, and only one poem exists in its entirety. The rest are fragments. Here are a couple. Brackets indicate missing or illegible sections.
4.
you burn me
76.
]
]might accomplish
]I want
]to hold
]said
]
45.
as long as you want
42.
their heart grew cold
they let their wings down
26.
]frequently
]for those
I treat well are the ones who most of all
]harm me
]crazy
]
]
]
]you, I want
]to suffer
]in myself i am
aware of this
]
]
]
Enjoy the weekend!
footage from this week’s rehearsals:
Material From Tuesday:
G & S- love a good pas de deux (working on making this one, all though the use of space can get a bit muddy):
i got a bit of a tchaikovsky buzz.
and i think that his valse sentimentale in f minor is maybe the most beautiful thing. i had been listening to lots of chopin and prokofiev as of late, but oh my. now i want to make a waltz.
i’ve been thinking about classicism a lot lately. the rigor of it, and the repetition it demands. the classical canon of work that exists in any given discipline. as much as i want to make original dances, i am married to the ballet asthetic and mode of work (so reverent). i’ve come to realize that technique is central in making work for me, and I draw so much influence from classical ballet. lines, structure, topography. and as one of my dancers has said to me: “if you’re going to dance in a barbie piece, you know you have to speak the classical vocabulary. that, and the feet are always pointed.” true.
at any rate, i’m working on some new movement that incorporates the structure of a ballet center sequence. tendu, adage, waltz, petite allegro, grande allegro, reverance. i’ve got it in my bones and i want to play with it. i’m hazarding away from my usual twisty knotty touchy port de bra in favor of something a bit more academic in this work. what i’d LOVE to do it work with very young dancers on it, when they’re strong and focused, but still a tiny bit shaky, a bit overzealous, and rather immature looking onstage. don’t know where i’ll find those exact muses….and i’ll probably have to wait awhile, but i’m thinking.
come preview a new adage phrase at TrioDance Collective’s audition workshop this Wednesday May 19 at Brooklyn Arts Exchange, 12-2. email triodancecollective@gmail.com for more specifics.
Urinetown at Millikin
In February, I had the privilege of returning to Millikin University to collaborate with director Lori Bales and a cast of 22 exceptional college students on their ensemble-based production of Urinetown. I flew to Illinois a couple weeks ago to see it in its final incarnation. What beautiful, brave, and generous work! It was incredibly commited and sophisticated. So proud of them. I can’t wait until some of them get to New York!
Clinton and Drew
Support System!
some fun with duration: solo work with mari
Choreographing the end of a piece is hard. It’s easy to just sum up everything that has happened in the previous 20 minutes, but I didn’t want to do that with this piece. throughout this process, I haven’t done a lot of work with just one dancer in the room. i decided that i wanted to work with each dancer individually for the coda section.
one thing that has been great about this process, is that we’ve kind of let this piece build itself, make up its own mind. If three people can make it to rehearsal, we work with three. wherever we stop, we stop, and we pick up with whoever is available the next time we meet. i’ve relinquished a bit of control in that respect, but it has offered me this chaotic kind of structure: this is what you have right now, and that is all. simple, and daunting, but very interesting to me. SO….on saturday morning one of my dancers is rehearsing for his MFA show, one is catching a plane, one is in a different state, and one is recovering from a back injury. the result: i get mari for an hour, and this is what we do:
((By the way, Mari directs and makes dances for her own company here in NY, Mari Meade Dance Collective. We met when we worked together last November on my site-specific work “every happiness i have wished for” in Washington Square Park.))
Gierre and Sara’s Duet Footage aaaand a Works in Progress Showing at DNA
We will be performing this segment and other excerpts from “Albedo” on May 29th at Dance New Amsterdam/Works in Progress. The showing is at 4:30 in the Theatre at DNA with a feedback discussion to follow. And the best part: It’s FREE! Come see this piece while we’re still working on it in rehearsal, and get the opportunity to see new work by other NY choreographers. Email me at Barbie.Diewald@Gmail.com with questions!
This Week’s Rehearsal
I’m headed off to have Brunch in Bryant Park with my dancers (building ensemble!), but first, a brief weekly update:
We finished what will become Movement II of Albedo this week, and had the opportunity to put the pieces together, so it looks something like this:
We’ll dive into the opening movement this Thursday, and the Pas de Deux on Sunday! This week I’ve been thinking a lot about stillness and movement, and how they interact. Also present: the task of taking care of space: distal/proximal, pivotal/peripheral. So often, space can get muddy and undefined, so I’m really working on that.
Enjoy this gorgeous Spring Day in New York City.
albedo rehearsal footage
Footage from out first few rehearsals for albedo, premiering at Triskelion Arts Center this June. I’ve posted this mainly for the dancers, but feel free to have a look!
You’re In
I recently had the opportunity to return to my Alma Mater, Millikin University to set some choreography for their mainstage production of “Urinetown.” I’m thrilled to have been able to spend a couple weeks in a spirit of true collaboration with the cast and directors (a few familiar faces, but mostly new ones). In a short amount of time, we got to work on some detailed physicality and a variety of different theatre styles from fosse to “the dream ballet”, and I hope the work I was able to put into “Urinetown” contributes to the telling of the story. I’ve posted a couple of fun shots of the cast and I in rehearsal. For more info on the show, visit: Millikin’s Website.
Channeling 42nd Street a bit...
early 2010 goings on:
Mercedez Perez-Garcia, a lovely friend of mine and incredibly generous photographer has taken some beautiful photos of &c.’s most recent work, “every happiness i have wished for.” The complete album is available in the “recent work” album. Please Enjoy!
&c. dancer Jessie Cosentino and the ensemble in Washington Square Park
I have had the amazing opportunity to train with SITI company through their Winter Training Intensive for the last three weeks. SITI is an ensemble-based New York theatre company that emphasizes international collaboration, new composition, and ongoing training. The company’s approach combines Viewpoints work (originally articulated by modern choreographer Mary Overlie, and later developed for actors by Anne Bogart and members of SITI) and Suzuki Training (a rigorous physical training that focuses on the strength of the lower body as it pertains to breath and vocal support).
“It is through the dialogue between Suzuki and Viewpoints, these two, very distinct, yet complimentary approaches to the art of acting that the philosophy and technique of SITI Company is continually explored, revitalized, and articulated.” (siti.org)
This program is shaping my approach and my process more every day. The uncertainty, incompleteness, co-presence, and questions that arise in Viewpoints are opening me up to new choreographic material, to new ways to collaborate, and to listening (with the whole of my body). Viewpoints gives and actor/director/choreographer a vocabulary to articulate what is happening in rehearsal or within a company. It focuses on things that are always THERE, but that we aren’t always conscious of (space, shape, gesture, spatial relationship, duration etc.). Suzuki, for me, has most influenced the reverence and focus I put into my work. The foot and body positions and movements are so simple, but serve as a litmus test for where your body is NOW: your bad habits, where tension is held, what is weak. Suzuki has gotten me to be incredibly physically aware and grounded. In addition, Suzuki leads with the center, rather than the appendages, so weight transfers and quick movements are increasingly clarified.
Please visit siti.org for more information, upcoming performances, and training opportunities. This work and this company are unparalleled.
In other news, I will be returning to my alma mater, Millikin University, at the end of this month to set some choreography for their mainstage production of “Urinetown.” More on that soon!
“every happiness i have wished for”
washington square park fountain