A modular form
for witnessing amazing dancers
In preparation for the first residency (bst, University of WA, Seattle) I eventually came up with a 7-rehearsal structure. Every dancer I worked with over zoom in 2021/2022 (about 20 dancers total) did the same series of 7 scored rehearsals with me. This process was sightly altered with Cast 2 for the Portland residency at Northwest Performance Works, and altered again as an in-person version with Cast 3 in Moscow, ID for the Loess performances. But the scores and series have remained essentially this form throughout.
All rehearsals are one-on-one (except #6), and 1 hour in length (except #5). On zoom dancers are in spaces of their choosing. In person I try to have us meet in a variety of spaces.
At the end of the process each dancer has the following materials:
2-3 stored states, 3 Loops, an “opening” collection, a Map, an Iris Heart solo
Ahead of meeting in a residency, I make a painting/puzzle out of each dancer’s Maps so that I internalize the shapes more - and so that they have another representation of their Map to consider and play with.
Here are some Maps, painting/puzzles and stills from rehearsals:
At some point I started calling this process, and the resulting group dance forms, Iris Dances - named after attributes of various kinds of irises: changeable aperture (eye or lens), multilayered and multi-sided (flower), designed for opening (both).
Here is the Iris Dance rehearsal series, in it’s current 6-part form:
Rehearsal 1:
Scores: Flocking (no sound), Revolving solos (music)
Viewer orientation: side by side, play with framing
Calls (cast 3 only): store (at least 1 external from CB and 1 internal from dancer)
Generates: 2 stored states (desire based - theirs and mine)
Rehearsal 2:
Scores: Revolving Solos (with music) multiple times
Calls: reverse, sustain, cut, hold, play, store
Viewer orientation: side by side, play with framing
Generates: Loop 1 (CB desire based)
Rehearsal 3:
Scores: Warm up tracking attraction in space, Solo (duet with spatial element) > solo replay > replay of replay (music or without, dancer’s choice)
Calls: Reverse, sustain, store
Screen orientation: they pin me, minimize their self view (abandon sense of screen framing)
Generates: Loop 2 (arbitrary, timed to 4 min. into replay of replay)
Rehearsal 4:
Scores: do a dance about opening (David Behrman’s On the Other Ocean)
Calls: reverse, sustain, store
Screen orientation: I pin them to minimize me, they pin me to minimize themselves. My whole focus is them, they disregard the screen except knowing I’m witnessing.
Generates: collection of stores (theirs and mine), Loop 3 (arbitrary, starts at 19 min)
Rehearsal 5:
Slightly longer rehearsal: 1 hour, 15 min
Scores: Landscape (full body) and Paths (just walking), Bouquet (music by request)
Guiding questions: where do your materials live in this space? In relation to each other? What are they when they are all pulled/collected together?
Screen orientation: I pin them to minimize me, they can choose to minimize themselves
Generates: Map, bouquet location, recording from which I extract Iris Heart solo
Rehearsal 6:
Dancer holds a rehearsal without me to learn their Iris Heart solo from the recording assemblage I’ve sent them. I see this solo in-person when we meet in residency.
More Maps and painting/puzzles and stills from rehearsals:
