Having produced a good number of informal workshop pieces in my time at Juilliard, my processes usually come with a limited amount of rehearsal time and a good amount of pre-planning, so that the dancers and I can be as productive as possible with the time given. These projects, for me, have most often turned out to be what I would consider a 'dance' as opposed to a 'piece'. I tend to pair songs with movements that evoke a clear feeling or an evident theme and only last a few minutes.
At the start of our first rehearsal period for Senior Production, I had one short piece of music that I felt strongly about using and about 4 eight-count phrases of movement. Wanting to make use of our set design resource, I met with Jacob Gow to discuss the creation of a street corner featuring a lamp post that would illuminate at some point during the piece. My cast consisted of 4 men and 3 women, one of the women being my classmate Ellie, whom I was fixated on being the audience's entry point into the world I hoped to create. This distinction in character made for many obstacles as the piece began to unfold. Countless questions arose between my mentors, Ellie, and I about who she was, what she was going through, and what her relationship to the other characters was. Because I wasn't pulling from any pre-determined story line I often had a hard time articulating the feelings I wanted her to embody. The next thing I knew I was stuck with all of these rules that I had somehow managed to create but couldn't allow myself to break!
As was soon realized by myself, David, and Risa, the best way to figure out what I wanted to say was to continue pushing forward in the construction of the piece, as I would then be able to back track and 'prune' out or 'cut and splice' parts of the dance I now had on the table. To be honest, there were a few days where I feared that I would not be able to solve this puzzle I had created, and let me tell you my soul could not cleanse itself when I'd go home at night, but rather chewed and chewed on how to make my vision more concise. Although a difficult choice to make, a huge step in solving the piece came by eliminating a large amount of material that the dancers had been working on. It was not easy to be discreet in making this happen, but it is a wonderful thing to have dancers who support your vision and trust your judgment.
Exactly one week prior to the opening of our show, David and Risa came to see a run of my newly renovated piece. Afterwards the dancers packed up and left and the three of us sat facing each other as we normally would before debriefing. What relief I felt to see little smirks on their faces. Finally I had managed to organize my thoughts and communicate them effectively to somebody other than myself!
The week of the performances was a choreographers dream; moving in to the theater, adding costumes and lighting, and finally getting to share what you've been brewing up in the studio! Everyone's pieces came together so beautifully, and I am truly thankful to have taken part in such a display of young, passionate artists. I will take away many things from my experience as a choreographer for Senior Production. Trust in myself, in my dancers, and in my mentors allowed me to enjoy watching this run of performances more so than any other choreographic endeavor that I have undertaken thus far. I very much look forward to the start of the next!