New Work: Where To Begin?

Jenn Logan & Ashleigh Doede rehearse TERRITORIES

How does a new dancework come into being?  Where do ideas come from?

For me, the groundwork for most of my dances, and surely my longer pieces, is a gradual discovery.  Always, however, there is some indelible impression that lodges itself in my subconscious and then begins to slowly rise to the surface.  For example, my newest work, TERRITORIES, originally sprang from a conversation I had with my son, Nik, nearly a year ago, about a piece of choreography that he was working on that had to do with perspectives. Early last summer, NEDT was invited to participate in ArtBark International’s TURF, based on different artists from different parts of the country coming together for a showing of work. The conversation with Nik and the idea of “turf” coalesced into an idea for a duet revolving around the idea of peace talks. The dialogue of negotiations, pro and con, abstracted through a dance vocabulary, was inspiring to me.  I began working on the duet with Ashleigh and Jenn.  As the rehearsals continued, a bigger picture emerged that is developing now into a 35 minute dancework. As an artist, I cannot be ignorant of or indifferent to changes in the social and political environment of my community and the world at large. I must respond. TERRITORIES is in the process of evolving into a pro-humanity piece. Even shedding light on the negative and desperate side of how boundaries of land and thought divide us from one another, I ultimately choose to reach for hope. Through the media of dance and theatre, my goal with TERRITORIES is to provide an avenue of opportunity for the audience to experience not only turmoil, but possibility. 

Please join us on March 19th at 1:00 for a sneak-peak of TERRITORIES, at our second Processing open demonstration.  Details will be forthcoming.