First, I want to explain that I am not writing formal reviews for Re:View. I still do that for mnartists.org and the Mpls-St Paul blogs, which is where you can find my formal review of this performance (look for it later today).
Instead, I’m going to use this space for more informal, glancing thoughts, and for questions.
“Wild Cursive”: I perceived each movement phrase as a sustained encounter between the brush and page. I clearly saw when the brush was lifted from the page–the pauses, the full stops. For me, this performance lives in the drama of the sustained phrase. How will the artist continue what he or she has begun? How will one movement evolve mindfully into the next? How will the artist continue to move forward in time without letting any of the myriad distractions time brings disrupt the impulse of the movement?
And, over time, I noticed the aggression here–not only the martial arts moves, the loud breath, the shouts from one performer–but the feeling of suspense, of each phrase as a battle with an unseen antagonist. I was reminded of the tightrope act of a line of poetry or a sentence in prose. Also, I noticed the isolation of the performers. Even when gathered in large groups, they all seemed to go on fighting their individual battles. Unison was no comfort. This sense of an ongoing struggle left me wondering–what, then, are the stops? Little deaths or little kills?
I’ve described them already as the moments when the calligrapher lifts the brush from the page, but this simply transposes the question to another artistic medium. Earlier yesterday I was with a group of poets, discussing the question “what is a line break?”–which is yet another way of posing the same question. So, let me ask you: what are the stops?
I’ll be back to discuss this further–or whatever else you’d like to discuss.
Lightsey, I’m so impressed with your observations from Cloud Gate performance. I have to admit, that for the first 5 - 10 minutes or so, I was completely engaged in the show, and was thinking about the forms of dancers, the lines their bodies carved through the space, the meaning behind the white panels hovering in and out of the air. After that, my mind wandered quite a bit. I thought about how I was sitting in the dark along side a couple hundred others. I wondered what we had in common. I wondered if others were as fidgety as I was. I thought about how amazing the dancers were and how I wished I could move like that. I wondered if I would have time to do my laundry later, if I had completed all my tasks for the day, for the week, for the month, then I began to panic and wonder if I was wasting my time and should have been answering my colleague’s emails, calling my mom and dad, or fixing the tail light on my car. But then I felt my legs get uncomfortable in the cramped seat and I was instantly brought back to the show. It was different now. They were in unison, they were water, wind, elements. I’ve tried to make these images with people in the past. I was less successful. These images were breathtaking, I felt like they really captured something completely unique. My thoughts turned again. To thinking about performance, and how I really want to make and see more clown work. Or at least, work that really connects with me. With it’s audience in a more personal way. What would this show be like if there were some sort of tangible story? Despite incredible physical agility, and technique, what was going on? It was like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” without a plot. Beautiful and stunning, but somewhat empty.
Did anyone else have a similar experience?
Comment by Noah Bremer — 10/26/2007 @ 1:55 pm
I’ve heard similar comments from others. I felt that the personal connection was there–more strongly than it would have been if the dance had attempted to reach me, attempted to figure out where I was. I don’t always want to be “noticed” by a performance–consulted, guessed at, talked to.
Comment by Lightsey — 10/26/2007 @ 4:09 pm
Where can I see this in a show?
Comment by Devenir comédien — 1/17/2008 @ 11:01 am
Really interesting post!
Never stop iterating and don't fear failure. Choose well-understood conventions where they will do to the most good , shortcuts you might take will cost you more to fix later than to try to get right up-front today.
Thanks , Zoli Juhasz
Comment by Agence Casting pour Enfants — 1/26/2008 @ 4:16 pm
Not sure I understand what you mean, Zoli Juhasz
Comment by Votre enfant à des talents d'acteur ? — 2/14/2008 @ 7:03 pm
Hey… why my last comment isn’t there….
Comment by Votre enfant a des talents d'acteur ? — 2/14/2008 @ 7:05 pm
Great post…I love your in depth analysis of “Wild Cursive”
Comment by Erica — 2/25/2008 @ 3:42 pm