Happy New Year everyone! Okay, I'm only about a month late. There are many benefits of having a blog. The first is that they keep you humble: if you need a reminder that no one really cares about what you think, then start a blog! Second, this blog makes me keep some kind of record of what I've been working on, which is the reason I happily persist. So, in that spirit here are some pictures from last year's projects.
Fall was nice at Marymount. Anthony Ferro revised a work of his called "Red Wagon," which he originally created in the early 1980s (I believe). The piece is set to a bunch of old-time jazz numbers. Check out these fun pictures taken by my personal photography hero Rosalie O'Connor. She always captures the mood of what's on stage in a very understated sort of way, and its amazing to watch her work. I always try to anticipate when I will hear her camera click and I've decided that she's pretty restrained and not just going for the big moments. She gets a lot of depth in her work that way I think.
Fall was nice at Marymount. Anthony Ferro revised a work of his called "Red Wagon," which he originally created in the early 1980s (I believe). The piece is set to a bunch of old-time jazz numbers. Check out these fun pictures taken by my personal photography hero Rosalie O'Connor. She always captures the mood of what's on stage in a very understated sort of way, and its amazing to watch her work. I always try to anticipate when I will hear her camera click and I've decided that she's pretty restrained and not just going for the big moments. She gets a lot of depth in her work that way I think.
Project number two at Marymount this past semester was costumes for a collaboration between Nancy Lushington (choreographer), Rob Dutiel (designer of the interactive set and lighting designer), and Rebecca Mushtare (digital media designer). I joined in after they had already been working together for several months. Basically, I just tried to design something that picked up the motifs from the set and that would act as a screen for the digital projections. They weren't complicated costumes and I feel they were successful because they didn't draw attention to themselves or overly complicate an already packed stage (there were 20 dancers). But, honestly, the simplest costumes are the most difficult to design - I agonized about every line!
Projections:
The Set:
The Costumes:
Hmmmm, what else has been going on? Oh yes, for the past few months I've been getting ready for the upcoming Time Lapse Dance season. Jody conceived of a piece with flags, which made me happy because sewing flags is pretty low-stress! I also made the costumes underneath...no design really, just something that would look decent on everyone (that's 97% of a designer's job in the dance world, the other 3% is saving your receipts for tax time). Actually, this is just half of the costume because the photos were taken at a residency and I may be changing the tops by the time the work premieres in February. These amazing pictures were taken in a dress rehearsal by the lighting designer's wife!!! His name is David Ferri and her name is Vanessa Cheung. When I saw these pictures all I could think was "Geesh, could this family have any more talent?!" No, they have more than their fair share of talent as it is!!! And Jody's choreography is so zen! I don't want to give too much away, so just look...
Hmmmm, what's wrong with this picture? Hint: Legwarmers!
But wait, there's more. Jody received a grant through Streb's Emerging Artist Commissioning Program to create an aerial work in their amazing facility (S.L.A.M. aka "the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics"). Jody decided to use the grant to create a piece in the style of Loie Fuller for aerialist (and ballerina) Rachel Salzman. Thus began a very intense process of figuring out how a costume of Loie-magnitude could work on a trapeze. Showing the sketch won't ruin the surprise because as always, its the choreography that transforms the fabric into magic. (And if you go to Jody's blog you can also see a snippet of rehearsal on video. I honestly just feel in awe.)
The Sketch:
But, since I can't tantalize you with actual photos of that, check out this groovy picture of Time Lapse Dance when the company performed in India for the opening ceremony of an international cricket tournament. They got to meet the Shaolin Monks - I wish they needed a costumer to travel along!
While were on the topic of aerialists, I also had the pleasure this year of collaborating for the first time with Above and Beyond Dance, a 'circus-infused' company directed by Chriselle Tidrick. Its not at all like Ringling Bros., or Cirque, or even Bread and Puppet. It's not about spectacle, or even spectacle with a message, its pure substance. Here are some photos taken by Julie Lemberger. This was my first time designing around harnesses, slings, swings, and other apparatuses and thankfully, Chriselle was very patient.
I call this photo "Portrait of a Discouraged Costumer" (Just Kidding!)
Well, that is all of the photos that I have for now. I wish everyone a great 2010, and I hope I can keep my resolution of turning down plastic grocery bags in favor of all of the reusable ones I've collected. So far, so good!
But, since I can't tantalize you with actual photos of that, check out this groovy picture of Time Lapse Dance when the company performed in India for the opening ceremony of an international cricket tournament. They got to meet the Shaolin Monks - I wish they needed a costumer to travel along!
While were on the topic of aerialists, I also had the pleasure this year of collaborating for the first time with Above and Beyond Dance, a 'circus-infused' company directed by Chriselle Tidrick. Its not at all like Ringling Bros., or Cirque, or even Bread and Puppet. It's not about spectacle, or even spectacle with a message, its pure substance. Here are some photos taken by Julie Lemberger. This was my first time designing around harnesses, slings, swings, and other apparatuses and thankfully, Chriselle was very patient.
I call this photo "Portrait of a Discouraged Costumer" (Just Kidding!)
Well, that is all of the photos that I have for now. I wish everyone a great 2010, and I hope I can keep my resolution of turning down plastic grocery bags in favor of all of the reusable ones I've collected. So far, so good!
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