Music can create an environment where even the smallest movement from a dancer can be framed and influenced.
An empty stage is like an empty canvas for me as an artist. Before the lights, dancers, costumes, audience, and sound, there is an open space reflecting back nothing but the story of the space itself. I imagine the blank space as a choreographer begins to tell me about a project. Even though I am usually not familiar with the space they are going to be performing in, the feeling is similar in my mind with all spaces at the beginning of a project – a blank canvas.
If the stage is the “macro space” that the project will live in, the dancer is like the “micro space”. Like the stage, before all of the elements of the project are realized, the dancer is like a blank canvas, save for the story of the individual. I never want to erase the story of the space or the individual dancers while imagining the beginning of the piece. Instead, I imagine how the music I create will begin to subtly, and not so subtly, influence the space and the dancers. The goal of this next musical practice is to observe those subtle changes in the space and dancer as a piece of music is being played. I think of this as “the tiny dance”.
My first experience with this practice was at a performance choreographed by David Grenke at The American Dance Festival. There was a single dancer on stage standing and looking out at the audience while Aretha Franklin’s “I Say a Little Prayer” blasted through the space. The dancer stood still looking out at the audience for almost the entire song. It blew my mind. At a prior rehearsal, I was working with David when he discovered this part of the piece. The dancer stood still as we watched the “tiny dance” of this performer while David shuffled through many different pieces of music. The space would wildly change, while the dancer stood alone in exactly the same spot. As each different song played, the difference in how the music affected the space and the dancer was subtle and incredibly profound. When David landed on the song by Aretha, it was like something snapped into place. It just worked.
The “tiny dance” is what I fell in love with during that rehearsal. I fell in love with how music can create an environment where even the smallest movement from a dancer can be framed and influenced. This practice is what I wanted to be inspired and challenged by for the rest of my career.
Make a playlist of 15-20 wildly different pieces of music. Arrange the class as an audience that is facing an open space in the room. Ask one student to just stand facing the rest of the class in the performance area. The dancer does not need to be rigid, but simply stand in one place for the duration of the music played. This can be very challenging for some students to do, so only request volunteers at the start of the practice. Once more community trust is built, more students will feel safe to stand by themselves in front of the class. Agree that everyone will keep as quiet as possible throughout the exercise.
Play one of the tracks and pay close attention to how the music influences the performer and the space. As the music is playing back, shift the focus to the “tiny dance” that begins to emerge from the performer. No one can ever stand completely still. The small, barely imperceptible movements are the “tiny dance”. The viewers should then broaden their perspectives to also include the larger space into what they are observing. Hold the sound of the music, the perspective of the space, and the subtle movements of the dancer all at the same time. After 3-5 minutes, fade out the music and discuss the experience. Take turns repeating the exercise with different students. After several passes, notice how detailed the class's observations become.