Can We Dance Tomorrow Please? Can We Please Move?
Today I performed 'And' - a new solo creation working with physical comedy and improvisation as part of the Young Artist's Feedback Forum facilitated by Amy Bell at Siobhan Davies Dance.
Programme notes for the piece are as follows:
Can we dance tomorrow please? Can we please move?
After reciting to the audience a text message she sent to a friend last year, the dancer will attempt to use physical comedy techniques such as tension, rhythm and timing to explore how she feels about the text in a structured improvisation.
Below is a video from the day after I sent the text to Jay. The day. The beginning. We did dance and move about what I asked her to.
The feedback forum which was informed by Liz Lerman's critical response theory has stimulated new ideas and thoughts for me to develop the solo. Firstly the idea that I will develop it in front of a live audience three times a week for one month
instead of in the studio alone. I will begin this on Monday 13th March and finish it on Monday 13th April. I will log the development in many different forms of media and post it on this blog.
I will continue to learn physical comedy techniques from Why Is That So Funny by John Wright; The Physical Comedy Handbook by David Ryder Robinson; Silent Comedy by Paul Merton; Keeping Quiet by Julian Dutton and Youtube video's of Jim Carrey and Rowan Atkinson (as Mr Bean and as himself). I will also specifically use Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone and Body Space Image by Miranda Tufnell and Chris Crickmay to help inform and research my solo whilst I develop it daily in front of an audience.
