“What is most exhilarating about performing Laura Dean’s choreography is that it truly is a human experience; one that can happen only by staying alert and being in the present moment. Spinning is something I wish to do every day of my life. Not only does it help me find my center, but it carries with it this weird and wonderful juxtaposition of making me feel larger than life in direct sync with the cosmos, and yet like a tiny, miniscule cell spinning in this great, vast universe.

“Every day that I do her work, my body is pushed to the edge. And every time I finish her piece, like Thoreau would say, ‘I stand in awe of my body.’”

Heck yeahhh Dean cast 09 rocks! Each night is just going to get better and better and I am so happy to be working with everyone– dancers, musicians, Amy, Joe, the spirit of Laura, channeling Steve Reich, and everything in between.  Thank you everyone…we are going to killll it the next three nights…let’s spin ’til we can’t spin no more!

Words from Amy Chavasse:

Thanks, a huge thanks to everyone, musicians and dancers, for an inspiring opening night for Impact! It’s late, I’m tired, so I’m not going to carry on now, but please know how profoundly grateful I am for all your hard work– your commitment and dedication to making this night happen. Now we have three more chances to create a stir. What a gift.

Wishing all the best,

Amy

“Back in December, the Department watched Impact on video. From the moment that video ended till last night (the first full run on stage with live musicians), this entire process has been a whirlwind of “6s,” “8s,” “12s,” and phrases along the lines of “oh my gosh, how are we going to pull this off?!” But through the calm and efficient direction of Amy Chavasse, we have done it. As a cast, and now an ensemble with the musicians under Joe Gramley, we are ready to fill the Power Center with the energy of Steve Reich and Laura Dean. The learning process was tedious, long, and hard on the feet, but at the same time rewarding. Impact not only involves incredible physical demands, but also involves complete mental focus. It truly is a connection of the mind, body, and spirit.”

Entry by Kalila Smith:

“This whole process has altered my idea of minimalistic movement. I have often seen it as uninteresting and impossible to get into. But working with these workshops and learning this piece has given me a new perspective on minimalism.

“Laura Dean spinning has a really centering effect on me. Once I started, it was somewhat hard, but once I calmed down and remembered to connect to my breath, the world started to whirl around me, rather than me turning inside the world. I was centered and it relaxed me to a level that went way beyond the superficial. It was a very intense experience for me. Also, even though it is minimalistic movement doesn’t mean that the movement is extremely hard. This dance is so aerobic and it really builds your stamina. As an understudy, I can’t do the movement full out in the limited side space that we have, so when I have to jump in, I am really impacted with the intensity of the movement.

“For me, it is it is also important to pay attention to the counting. On numerous occasions, I’ve found myself memorizing counts and learning the music to the best of my ability. I try to listen for ques in the music that are good to know for the dancers and their entrances. It has been rewarding, even though I am not dancing, to have people come to me with questions about counts and the music. It makes me feel like I am essential to this project even though I am not a performer at this time.”

What a crazy time for everyone!  However, I must say that everyone’s looking great and it’s really coming together.  We will have some pictures coming soon of what’s going on back stage.  Check out our new pictures of our great and talented musicians!

Here is a journal entry from one of our men Austin Seldon from earlier on this month when we were first putting the piece together:

“I don’t know the entire piece, but in five days we have learned and put together, I think, the majority of the dance. When I first learned that almost every rehearsal was going to be four hours long, I thought that it would be horrible. However, four hours goes by really fast. We all have so much to learn and are all contributing to bringing this piece back to life after a 20 year absence from the world. I don’t even have time or energy to worry about how exciting this really is; what it means to the University and for the general public. This is a very exciting piece; I’ve liked it ever since I first saw it on video, and now that I’m understanding the complexity of the patterns and movement, I’m falling in love.”

Beautiful words and a true statement that the whole cast shares.

If you can make it to the show please do.  This Thursday-Sunday (29th-1st), buy your tickets online at http://www.music.umich.edu/performances_events/productions/08-09/arcs-main.htm or at the Michigan League, and join us in this celebration!

Just a reminder about the Laura Dean, Impact audition on Sunday at 2pm.  Hope to see everyone there!

Good Luck!

I’ve currently added more pictures and a video to the link, “Behind the Scenes,” some cool stuff there you guys should check it out!  Here are some other cool documents to look at, one is an interview with our own Tara Sheena who is a sophomore dance major at the University.  She is one of the many students who has been going to all the Laura Dean Workshops since the beginning and in her interview she speaks to things that she has learned as well as her experience throughout the process.

Interview with Tara Sheena

The other document is some of my notes from one of our first workshops describing some of the movements, the steps, and the intention behind them.  I copied and paste some of what I wrote down about the different steps we learned that directly relates to and shows Laura Dean’s style.

Notes:

8 count phase – has accent in between sides on plie forced arched.  Details – spot front, stays on one level, thighs rotated out, formal and carved, 3D
7 count phrase – sways from side to side.  Details – tilt of the body comes about organically,3D
Footwork – backwards “running man” almost – one foot goes back while the other goes forward:  first 7 arms windmill, second 7 arms “play drums”
Rhythmic foot pattern – 1&2&3&4&5&6&7 (Amy referred to this as “sexy” – interesting way of putting it Amy)
Backwards forwards pattern:
•    Combines 7 count phrase with footwork
•    Backwards pattern – two 7 count phrase with footwork
•    Forwards pattern – rhythmic pattern
Circle Pattern – triple with your feet, accent on the down beat, in a duple meter (two 8’s) and then spin back to your original spot in the circle.
**Propelling yourself through space.  First she would have us plow ourselves through space through the patterns before she’d even give us the choreography.

1.  There will be some pictures/videos posted on the main wall here but for the most part I will be uploading them into the “Behind the Scenes” section of the blog.

2.  The “About” section has details about the blog, the Laura Dean, the workshops etc.  It tells what the site is about as well as what this project is about.

3.  The information on here will be updated at least on a weekly basis, that means not only the posts, but the information in the sections of the blog I’ve briefly outlined above.

4.  Any questions?  Post them up!  We’d love to hear from you!