Week One. Two rehearsals, three research sit-ins completed. Good news is that my dancers are invited to join me watching Ming's rehearsal. It is a fun opportunity and I hope they watch with the same curiousity I do, soaking in from the atmosphere the knowledge of years of experience. I have moments of watching a master craftsman at work and I am in perfect delight at seeing little connections happen so easily, effortlessly finding beauty from nothingness.
My young dancer is braving the challenge of his very first solo and a 'not easy' dance. He is breaking into the dance so to speak, a raw four and half minutes outlined. I'm working hard to give him as much input as possible, so that from the very beginning he starts thinking and is concious about quality, timing and presence. I don't want emotion in the dances, but I do want presence. It has to come from your spirit, a deeper place than your soul. For many this is hidden away, shelved. Coming alive from the inside out is what I want. It is painstaking work trying to coach him, but I do it from love...the deep passion inside me that won't let me give up.
Tomorrow I get official photos of the rehearsals and showing, it's going to fun to look at and I will upload some. Next week at Ming's sophomore composition class we get to show our first efforts at rehearsing the solo. Translation on many levels is crucial...it really helps that this dancer is more fluent in English, and I've found more kinesthetic ways to express my own ideas choreographically...defining to the finest detail helps clarify for the dancer enormously. I think if my dancers and I are thinking on the same wavelength than giving them freedom in choosing/creating can work, but given that there is still such a huge gap I have to constantly guide and shape with great care. Heartache invoved, but we're climbing the mountain.
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