catching up

in a work created and performed earlier this year, we launched an exploration into that nebulous realm between some most popular binaries.
specifically, our intentions were to blur the distinction between the public and the private. in doing this, we obviously had to ask, 'what, exactly, are the 'private' elements of a public performance?'
the work was initiated through the fabrication of and commitment to costumes that took shape using black stretch mesh and foam wire-insulation tubing. we constructed individual bells/veils/tubes from the mesh, anchored to scuba-like head gear, and then suspended shin-level by a circle of the tubing. the finished shades were opaque enough to see through but distorted the expressions and movements of the bodies within.
with this barrier/lens in place, we initiated the performance with our voices; five bodies filled the space with low throaty rumblings and the observant giggling began upfront. both sounds strangely percussive lurched forth to mark the start of the spectacle. the sparse motions of walking and grumbling created an eeire disturbance of air and, matched with the strangely veiled appearance of five women, brought along a premonition of illustrated grief. sound carried through the veil despite the fabric's seeming restrictive nature.
this smirk-worthy morose dynamic persisted until all bodies took flat to the floor and breathed a unanimous sigh. the releif continued into an atonal rise and fall of song, no melody or rhythm other than the breathing patterns specific to each body. having infused the territory with a sweet blanket of sad silliness, the dance progressed into a series of concealing and revealing, pushing and pulling, lifting and lowering sequences that were originally concieved with no relation to the final costume. the movements were designed as their own separate language of questions which gave light to another layer of possibilities as they paired up with the costumes.

we're crazy about the river!

the River Happening happened in full force May 14, thanks to a sweet group of CalArts students and fritz haeg who put it all together! there really is something magical about getting out of town
for a bit, driving north on your choice of highway to the outer reaches of these endlessly interconnected cities. our surroundings this trip seemed unimaginably hot and the bleak suburbanscapes of valencia helped to push the day into the super-strange, slightly confusing, almost half-hallucinogenic zone.

unbelievably, we arrived hours ahead of schedule. we parked ourselves in the far corner of an enormous shopping center: a paradise to those who dream of the soft, white lights of an iPod vending machine located just inside their favorite grocery store (truly - it is mesmerizing).
there was a huge truck full of free anarchy ice cream accompanied by a blaring specialized soundtrack (including 'you're as cold as ice') through the onboard PA system, welcoming everyone to the event. responding in-kind, we laid out a blanket, under what seemed to be the only patch of shade for miles, and waited with peanutbutterhoney bread for things to get started.
the group formed quickly. artists and students, performers and volunteers assumed mobile flight patterns and soon became a recognizable formation. we began our journey down the river edge, stopping here and there to witness androgynous performance art and an intervention between Nature and Humankind.
the seemingly mild paraders soon found themselves at the center of a movement. The sweat collected on neck hairs young and old as we taught, learned, and performed a catalog of river vocabulary that propelled us to our shady destination.

there, the sisters of the santa clara opened the revival and welcomed us to give our tithes with 'plume dune' - a dance.
posing as a series of human water and flight formations, we whistled and clapped, shuddered and swayed to the ambient sounds of traffic on the bridge overhead. the work included imagery of synchronized swimming and a fountain of flowing legs. set down directly in the path, passers by became an unsuspecting spectators as well as perfect participants in this culminating moment.

a bit of history

In one of the first incarnations of collectivestatic performance, 'OhMeOhMy' was a dance created in silence, then set together with an original score on the harp. we generated two separate entities, movement and sound, and performed them as a shifting and spontaneous relationship. awesomely, some 800 college students witnessed this happening amidst a lineup of serious booty-shaking and 'sexy' dancing, along with a few other group who challenged these structures in their own way. the result in the house was a hush at the sight of the harp as it made its way to the corner of the stage, a rustle when the audience realized the live music was making its way though the auditorium, a silence as the bodies, too, began making noise, and, finally, a much needed communal giggle as the dance took shape and didn't take itself too seriously.

River Happening

Sunday May, 14, collectivestatic is participating at Happening On the River: this river is our parade! Check it out at http://www.fritzhaeg.com/teach/ourparade.html

After ruminating on the language of birds, we're helping establish the migratory path down the river's edge and welcome any and all who'd like to join in the movement. It promises to be a sweet spectacle for river likers and lovers both.

cs