This semester I had a dream. I wanted to make a new quartet exploring themes of categorization and quantification. It would be rigorous yet somehow still messy and human. I had A LOT of complicated conceptual ideas, some juicy movement, four talented and eager undergraduates as well as a brilliant dramaturg (theater PhD student). I also wanted the dance to be responsive to the audience: kind of … Continue reading the journey to [insert title here]
There is already so much happening this semester but before I share about new projects, musings and inspiration I want to take a moment to show my final project from Bebe Miller’s History/Theory/Literature of Choreography course. My self selected assignment was to create a solo in the choreographic style of Susan Rethorst. I studied her book A Choreographic Mind: Autobodygraphical Writings closely and also drew from a workshop I … Continue reading Process/Product
Many people told me that graduate school would be difficult. I was prepared for difficult. Other people told me that it would be exhausting. I was prepared for exhausting. Those same people also mentioned that it was likely to be rigorous. I was prepared for rigorous. And then I got here and I realized that being prepared in a city you know, surrounded by a … Continue reading Graduate School = Dance Artist Bootcamp
For the final project in my History/Theory/Literature of Choreography class with Bebe Miller I am creating a piece inspired by the choreographic process of Susan Rethorst. This video footage was shot on my first day in the studio. I am building block sculptures at the start of each stage of the making to jumpstart my creativity and draw attention to my aesthetic preferences. I don’t … Continue reading Studio Construction
For the purposes of this blog post I have taken a series of photos of a block sculpture to play with loosely describing a few steps in my creative process. Let’s start at the beginning: Well, that’s not really the beginning is it? The beginning would just be an empty desk – or in my case a cluttered desk that had to be cleared off … Continue reading Making a dance (in blocks)
About a year ago, just as I was beginning to apply for graduate school, a wonderful young choreographer named Antonia Z Brown decided to interview me for a series she was curating on an arts blog. Here’s a quote from that interview (I was responding to a question on how I define success for myself as an artist): As for internal success, I’ll talk about … Continue reading The forest and the trees
It may sound obvious but when you arrive at graduate school you don’t know anyone all that well. I mean, I connected with a few folks at the audition but not with a lot of depth. And yet a major part of my experience here is hopefully centered around making dances which for me in the past has always been about relationships – casting was … Continue reading Solo-ing
Gina Hoch-Stall 