Here are some pictures of dancers Kristen Frankiewicz, Alex Soares and me as well as artist Donna Perkins and her friend Lucy.

And yes, those are graphite lines on my back.

I haven’t written about this yet, I’ve been wanting to, and this is the time. One of the facets of Frame that I am extremely committed to is collaborating with artists who are not dance-artists in some way for every project.  Past collaborators include Diana Weeks and Lorie Garcia.  I am always so renewed after talking with artists outside of the dance genre.  I crave their influence.  For Points and Coordinates, the artist collaborator is Donna Perkins. She says, “I steal lines and choreograph them into abstractions.” She came into our last rehearsal with canvases in hand and drew the lines she saw as we danced. She will follow us through our process, chronicling the progression of Points and Coordinates from the first rehearsal through the Contemporary Arts Museum premiere. I am so honored and delighted to work with her. Her work is complex, real, and freshly stunning. I am planning to showcase more of her work in posts to come.  In the meantime, check out her website.

Here are three of  her pieces that I have fallen in love with–although there are many:

This will probably make no sense to you, dear reader. It barely makes sense to me, and I wrote it. But for interest’s sake, here’s part 2 of the score in its next development for Points and Coordinates:

phrase 1. location: 4
occurrence 3 w/ phrase 2. location: 3. Dancer 3 initiates
occurrence 2 w/ phrase 2. location: 3. Dancer 2 initiates
gesture phrase clump. location: 2
occurrence 3 w/ phrase 1. location: 5. Dancer 3 initiates
lifts/weight shifts. location: 4
phrase 2. location: 6
body circle clumping. location: 2
occurrence 1 w/ phrase 2. location: 5. Dancer 1 initiates
occurrence 2 w/phrase 1. location: 2. Dancer 2 initiates
occurrence 1 w/ phrase 1. location: x. Dancer 1 initiates

Two things: 1. I need to load up on the fish for brain power, 2. I definitely know how to spell “occurrence.”

Here’s a post from when I was in planning phase. Now we’re in dancing phase. So here’s the info:

Dear Frame Dancers,

This in apology in advance for nightmare I will soon inflict upon you. Dexterous? You will be! Start those finger push-ups. And start memorizing these:

Don’t worry. I only need you to practice numbers 5 through 10. On each hand. In cannon, both hands moving at the same rate. In 6/8 time. Just a little head’s up! Negotiable? …maybe.

Yesterday I picked up the posters, postcards and bookmarks to advertise the Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance. They look amazing. They’ll be in public places in September and dance-friendly places (i.e. they won’t take them down before the show) now. If you have any ideas for where to post them, let me know.

Tomorrow we resume rehearsals for Points and Coordinates. It’s nice to go into this next rehearsal after seeing the space, the fantastically converted Contemporary Arts Museum. Today I will work to connect the score a bit, add dimension. “Occurrences” WITH coordinates, you might say… Check out this earlier post.

I also found some possible costumes today. Definitely not a definite, but a possibility. Fun.

Working on the post card. I have two designs, and am trying to decide between the two. If you want to be on the highly esteemed panel deciding which one to use, email me. I’d love your input! lydia.hance@framedance.org. Or tweet @framedance

The exhibit looks incredible.  They’ve really transformed the space, check out this article on the opening of the Dance with Camera exhibit.

On August 18th, Frame will be presenting at the Spacetaker Speakeasy.  I will be workshopping the newest work-in-progress through an element of technology that I’m not sure I’m ready to embrace yet.  So I’ll test it out.  During the showing of the piece-in-progress (note: in progress), I’ll divide the audience into two groups (or they’ll divide themselves); one group will respond to the work using the Fieldwork Guidelines at the end of the showing.  The other group will respond into a live feed in real time (on the computer, for those of you not as tech-savvy).  My interest lies in how the feedback differs between the two groups, how the audience feels about responding in their specific context, and also, how my dancers feel knowing people are responding to the work in these two separate groups.

Fieldwork is a weekly or bi-monthly work group designed to give feedback to artists presenting their work anywhere from mid-process through final stage.  The concept is for viewers/responders to give feedback that comes from an experiential place.  “When I saw your work, I felt____” or “when this happened, I was distanced by _____” or “I was drawn in by ______”  or “seeing this reminded me of ______.”  Taboo phrases in Fieldwork are “I liked” or “I didn’t like.” Basically, we try to avoid empty words that don’t provide insight into how the content was received.  In contrast, the real-time responses will be more like fleeting thoughts, impressions, questions…more of an uncensored response to more closely mimic the anonymity that real-time responders have over the internet.

I facilitate Fieldwork in Houston–if you’re a Houstonian, and an artist interested, leave me a comment.

Media Contact:

Susan Schmaeling, APR

susan@saspr.com

713-349-0780

Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance

Free, at Miller Outdoor Theatre

September 24-25, 2010

Houston, Texas – July 28, 2010 – From Tchaikovsky to original electronic scores; from Bourneville to Bollywood, the 16^th annual Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance celebrates the diversity and creativity of ten Texas-based choreographers and dance companies. Dance Source Houston has presented this free dance festival for the past 15 years at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Executive Director Christina Giannelli and the Weekend curatorial team, Roxanne M. Claire, Joanna Friesen and Nancy Wozny, have curated an evening of mind-blowing entertainment. Tap dance, trapeze work and dancing with industrial fans are part of the evening performance on September 24-25, 2010 at 8 PM at Miller. The program includes: independent choreographers Paola Georgudis, Catalina Molnari and Leslie Scates. Featured companies are: Frame Dance Productions; infinite Moving Ever Evolving (iMEE); NobleMotion Dance; Reck Dance Projects; Revolve Dance Company; Suchu Dance; and Vault. For additional information about the dance festival visit www.houstondance.org. For ticket information for the evening program only, directions and location of Miller Outdoor Theatre visit www.milleroutdoortheatre.com or call (713) 373-3386.  For dance updates, follow Dance Source Houston on Facebook.

Dance Source Houston also presents Dance Around the World, a free family matinee, on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 11 AM at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Dance Around the World explores the classical dance styles of two cultures. The top students from Houston’s foremost dance academies, Houston Ballet II and The Anjali Dance Company will present traditional and contemporary dances from the European and Indian traditions.  Exciting dance, fabulous costumes and beautiful music will delight and entertain audiences of all ages.

Dance Source Houston presents Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance. The dance festival is sponsored in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board, Inc. KUHF-FM Houston Public Radio is the official media sponsor.

Dance Source Houston is a service organization supporting the creation and presentation of contemporary dance in Houston.  Other Dance Source Houston projects include: The Dance Card, a bi-monthly calendar of area dance events; The Dance Table, sharing dance community information at area performances; the Dance Source Weekly Newsletter, an e-newsletter; and the website www.houstondance.org for upcoming performance information; previews and reviews.  These activities are supported in part by Houston Endowment, Inc. and Houston Arts Alliance.

Tomorrow’s rehearsal is the first for the CAM piece, Points and Coordinates. There is a major “unknown” element because of the space we’re using–the audience space being the performance space. So something I need to focus on is not cementing the piece. There will be choreographed phrases, manipulations of those phrases, segments of choreographed locomotion, and transitions, but I need to find the places in the piece that can be manipulated and established during the performance–the variables, as I have previously written. I’m all about rehearsing improv, and making that a regular part of company rehearsals. Each time we ‘run’ the piece, it will be a new manifestation of the choreography/score on a new axis…does that make sense? So the performance will be a new manifestation on the axis of the CAM, the axis being the arrangement of the gallery, the moving arrangement of the people in the space, and each other as we’re reacting and responding to the first two variables.

Friday is the opening of the exhibit: Dance with Camera, and earlier that day I am meeting with some people at the CAM to discuss the possibilities of projectors, projection space and what will most likely be our “danceable space.”

So for tomorrow, these are my goals:
1. the new Frame’s official mini warm-up
2. imrov time really move the body and find awareness of each other
3. learn big phrase
4. learn mini phrase-let
5. begin to create new weight-shift section

Must not forget the camera…must not forget the camera…

This week is Frame’s first week of the season!  We’re off!  We start work in the studio on Points and Coordinates to be performed Sept. 16 at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston.  I thought it might be nice to look back on the past 3 months (the first 3 months!) of Frame Dance Productions.  All pictures for “Crease” were photographed by the magnificent Lorie Garcia