Devised Choreography

A couple of weeks ago I attended a talk at Barnard College with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Nora Chipaumire. They are collaborating on a new work set to premiere this week at Harlem Stage called visible. (I’ll be there on Thursday night! Who wants to be my date?)

Over the course of the talk, the choreographers were peppered with questions about process and Jawole mentioned a term that knocked me upside my head and has stuck with me ever since: devised choreography. She compared it to a theater process in which a director and players work together and through a series of facilitated improvisations create a script as a group. This process is named in the theater world as devised theater. What is important to note about this is that all the players help to create the script, even though it is created under a single director’s vision and guidance. The name “devised theater” though, alerts any outsiders to exactly what the creative process was and there is an automatic understanding of how important the performers were to the process.

Jawole said it on the panel, and I’ll say it again: we do this exact same thing in dance ALL THE TIME! But the process isn’t named so clearly and most times credit isn’t given when credit is due.

Guest Blogger Jessica Wilt: Why Continue a Career in the Arts? (Part 2)

Jessica Wilt

In part 1 of my blog post, I started to talk about how the economy is affecting arts administrators. Specifically, how the financial and jobs crisis is weighing heavier on midcareer level individuals. Now, what we can do about it?

Here are three things I see happening today, mainly due to the economy:

#1 – Unpaid internships have now replaced what used to be the entry level job. Anyone can be an intern, no matter what age, and companies get by with more unpaid labor. Ultimately this helps with their bottom line, but in turn is destroying the pay scale. What used to be respectable manager/director pay is often times now entry level salary.

Guest Blogger Jessica Wilt: Why Continue a Career in the Arts? (Part 1)

Jessica Wilt

With the national focus shifting from the financial crisis to job creation (and now, this week back to the financial crisis once more), I thought I would use my personal story as a midcareer arts administrator to help shed light on the impact the economy is having on jobs in this field.

I’m in my mid-thirties and keep asking the question, “How much longer does work have to consume my entire life before the level of financial security matches my professional accomplishments and experience?”

[MEMBER BLOG] Justina: Capitally Consumable Culture

9:15pm – My Apartmemt: Each morning before I step out of my apartment I put on my  headphones and select an iTune before I start down the steps. ($.99)

I own this music. I did not make it. I cannot play an instrument and yet feel deeply drawn to the form. Music and I have a personal relationship. It moves me and I am comfortable in my interpretation and appreciation of the artist’s work.

Today’s iPod selection is “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden, first published 16 years  ago in 1994.  It was a hit for Soundgarden at the time and was undoubtedly played live for adoring audiences everywhere. I  never went to a single one of the shows- I was nine. As a consumable this piece of art is boundless in its reach- defying time and space. Anyone with money to buy it or ears to hear it can have or encounter “Black Hole Sun.”

It troubles me that I cannot say the same for dance. Why does any dance bind itself so rigidly to a time and a place? I live in New York City and could gain access to a $60 seat to see a live performance at anytime. But I also want to be able to spend $1, lay on my butt at home, and enjoy the same thing if I have the compulsion to do so.

True, this wouldn’t be the same rich and visceral experience that I get from seeing live performance. Then again, I’d never expect that much for a dollar. From the record to the mp3, ownership is key. It enables audiences to interact with the form on their terms. They layer the work with interpretations too intimate to conjure in a theater, especially  when seen only once.

I can’t sing well but I sing along, loudly, by myself. When are we going to invite others to dance alone with us in their living rooms?