The new food pyramid of dance: a creative plate

Picture it now: there is a plate on the table in front of you, full of creative, Hotel-in-a-Bottle-icious food to eat.

• A quarter of that plate has been inspired by text (thank you, Haruki Murakami!)

• A second quarter has been inspired by video imagery and design (thanks again, HM, and cheers to Mark and Dawn at Troika Ranch who made design possible for me!)

• Quarter #3 of that plate has been inspired by dancers’ experiences, interests, and improvisations (props to Melissa, Lynn, Silvia and Daria!)

• Fourth quarter: inspired by music written about in the books (Murakami FTW! and Bert Bergen who keeps me from making the most obvious musical choices ever.)

So let’s talk about the text. Some of the lines in Murakami’s novels are so poetically delicious, you could just eat them. To whet your appetite: “As much as he might try to lose himself in a crowd, he was as inconspicuous as a centipede in a cup of yogurt.” – from 1Q84

I love the imagery in a simple line of text. And who doesn’t love centipedes with their yogurt? But in seriousness, an image like a centipede in a cup of yogurt has numerous possibilities for movement generation. Imagine for a moment that you have 100 legs. Express yourself using all those legs. Let your movement be driven by your legs rather than your head. See where your 100 legs can take you. Now get in a cup of yogurt. Let’s have Greek yogurt! How does the yogurt feel on your legs? How can you travel through space, with 100 legs, through yogurt?

By starting with a simple, poetic line of text, we can collaboratively create a movement sequence or a score (rules for movement arrangement). Next step, add video!

Erin also writes about her process on her own blog: erinmalley.tumblr.com