Take a peek into a Frame Rehearsal!
Hey Framers! Lena, Development Assistant, here! I got a chance to watch Frame rehearse this afternoon for what will surely be an epic show – Ecouter, coming June 28-29 at 8pm at Spring Street Studios!
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Ecouter, which means “to listen” in French, will feature two works that have premiered to rave reviews (see slide number four) earlier in our season and a completely new piece set on dancers Shanon Adams, Jacquelyn Boe, Laura Gutierrez, and Ashley Horn. Frame Director, Lydia Hance, led the four stunning artists in a fierce and fun rehearsal this afternoon in preparation for an epic evening of dance!
Rehearsal began with a “check in.” Everyone passed around a theoretical ball and took turns stating how our body, energy, space, and time felt.
tight, good, stiff, tired
frustrated, moderately moderate, high-strung-happy, high!, excited
calm, cool, beautiful, clean, open
good, free, valuable, expansive
These were a few of the words used by the dancers to convey their current states of being.
Then they got to creating.
Dance is physical. And this dance is no exception with lots of exciting and beautifully athletic moments to look forward to! But, all of the physical exertion was duly aided by a few… interesting verbal directives from our fearless leader, Lydia Hance:
“take a risk”
“find a moment of discovery”
“even if it’s just an arm…experiment with your whole body getting there”
“Accent the fingertips! like…the road rage bird, grrrrrr”
“if you’re lifting someone, give them a moment”
“smart flocking”
and, of course, the most surprising yet frequent directive:
“GUACAMOLE ARMS”
Intrigued? You should be! This piece is fantastic – I feel so privileged that I got to be a part of rehearsal today and I absolutely can’t wait to see what the final product will be!
To finish out the rehearsal the dancers convened once again for a brief “check out.” Again they were asked about body, energy, space and time.
great, hot, sweaty, sore, warm, tentative, stiff in lower back
little lower, more calm, tired, light, high and fulfilled
ok (back to work), valuable, well-spent, precious, about to speed up, over
light, wonderful as always, empty
As I walked to my car, I thought more about my own energy and how it had changed over the course of the hour and a half of witnessing dance and art and the creative process. Gratitude. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. It’s not everyday that I get to see something organic and authentic manifest in front of my eyes, in front of my camera lens. One thing is for sure: I can’t wait to see more.
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