Hello and welcome. I'm Samantha Basting and I'm Kristen Tobin and we are
the co-produced and choreographers of emerging artists. 222,
two,
we wanted to take a moment to explain just a little bit about our research
interests and creative process. Kristen and I were adamant about creating
a through line or common ground for our concert. And together we came up
with two particular goals. One is increasing public value and
participation in the arts. And second is cultivating audience development
for contemporary dance in doing so, we're investigating the relationship
between um understanding contemporary dance and the creative process.
So for myself, I was really interested in challenging my own
instincts as a choreographer, challenging my assumptions, as well as the
audience's assumptions about how and where dance is produced within the
theater itself. Um And then I was interested in kind of creating
a loose surreal like narrative that is really framed within a very exposed
structure.
For my research, I became interested in understanding um general audience
perspectives and how they make meaning um when watching contemporary dance.
And so for my creative process, I at least I'm trying to create a lens
through which um I perceive the fields. Um But in doing so, I also wanted
to investigate how practitioners of the field uh make sense of it,
understand it or um watch it. And so, um I asked questions like, what is
contemporary modern dance? What does it look like? Um How would you
describe it in terms of action words or thinking about maybe parameters or
boundaries within the field?
And secondly, I was interested in figuring out if there was an appropriate
mindset or attitude in order to watch it um or view it or make sense of it
, which is where those surveys, the pre and post concert handy are
annoying surveys come into play. Um It's really important if you haven't
done so already fill out the preconcert survey uh so that we can um gather
the information and try to understand what your opinion is before viewing
the concert.
The
then, then, then boom, doesn't it do that? And then later, um once you
fill out the post concert survey, try to gather if there were any um
shifts in expectation or um changes in how you view or make sense of
contemporary dance. And for those of you who fill out a pre and post
concert survey after the show, you might get a free T shirt
at random, randomly
enjoy the concert. But before that, we have to quee Bill, don't we? Yes.
Cue Bill
Bill. Welcome to the dance studio theater. And this performance of
emerging artists too, featuring the Capstone choreography and performance
work of Masters of fine Arts candidates, Samantha Basting and Kristen
Towson, your host Herberger College Dance. So we don't disturb our patrons
and the performers on stage. And due to copyright laws, the use of cameras
, camera phones and recording devices is not permitted. We ask our patrons
to turn off all watch alarms, pagers and cell phones and of course at no
time is telephone conversation allowed in the theater during the
performance. Thanks for helping to make this performance better for
everyone. Now, in just a few moments, emerging artists too
well, dancing, dancing is such a, as you said, broad activity and one
dances for so many reasons. I think today my view is that everything is
contemporary dance, whether we look at. Uh so you think you can dance or
dancing with the stars, it's all contemporary dance because for me, it's
reflective of the times in which we live in. Uh when we look at just the
subset of modern dance, I think we're looking at an area in which people
like to dance with ideas. I think that it has a unique position. It tends
to kind of defy classification in a way uh which weirds people out about
it, I think. And it's so all embracing all encompassing, there's a very
wide spectrum, unlike other forms that are a little more codified and have
specific vocabulary and content, you know, uh contemporary is very open.
Sometimes it's better just to say the word movement. It seems like the
best way you could describe it is what it's not, it is not ballet and it
is not jazz but contemporary modern dance can almost fall everywhere in
between those two items. There is no longer an accepted set of criteria
and I think that that's the most wonderful thing about where a
contemporary modern dance is. But aside from that, I don't think that that
there's so many people doing so many different things in so many places
that the idea of uh coalescing it into one definition doesn't, doesn't
work for me, be very self-limiting to sit there and say this is what it is
and set it into a pretty little picture that has boundaries. Um I, I think
one of the things that dance continues to do is break those boundaries. So
what may be um the thing uh today is not the thing tomorrow.
I think the boundaries of it is that it, it requires
interaction.
It's, it's um
it's an, it's an art form that does not allow the audience to be passive.
It, it engages with the audience whether they like it or not. Basically,
it can go from sitting on stage with a blank expression to diving in and
out of the floor to very athletic movement, lots of inversion. But I think
the the spectrum again is so broad and that there's a real interest in
taking physical risks and throwing the body off balance and then
recuperating. You see inversions with less and less movement. It's more
about the idea um on the arm and kind of movement, walking, sitting
wearing cool sunglasses, making crazy faces. Um But then you have the
other and be an interest in some flinging movement. Uh whether it's the
legs flinging or the arms flinging, the focus is not so much outward but
more internally focused, internally driven use of three dimensional space
, thematically, you might see dance that keeps broadening tries to be
provocative. Identity is very social and politically evolve work. You
might see work that has a lot of projections onto the stage. So, so those
are some of the features. I think
there's no hierarchy, broad physical risks, little picture
really confining subset subset the eye has a a way of looking at things,
the spectrum and mere feet and mere feed feed we're in between them,
highlighting coalescing
and flinging the focus dance with ideas.
It's reflective of the times in which we live in needs that engagement,
expecting, diving in and out of the floor,
I racing sunglasses.
The line is very blurry right now.
I would hope that anyone watching contemporary modern dance um would be
willing to accept
non verba liable content as being valid
and would be aware of one's own kinesthetic response and consider that
part of the experience and one's own emotional response and consider that
part of the experience and not be only looking for
content and result that could be easily put into.
I always go expecting to be moved or changed or see something that I have
not seen before.
It doesn't always work. I always hope. I'm surprised. I always hope that
there is something there that I haven't seen that it's somebody's
individual, unique take on what it is that they're looking at. Uh, don't
try to take any meaning from it. Don't try to
think that you have to know what it's about. Uh just come and enjoy and
whatever you get from it. Yeah, I'd be content.
Well, I think that in all of those, in all the art experiences, um There's
the hope that for
a time, at least that you are psychologically in a different place than
you were before you entered it, your thoughts, your feelings, your body
rhythms, your um the way you look at the people and places around you, the
way you hear what's going on that, you know, your perceptions are changed
for a time. You'd hope that your pores would be more open afterwards.
And
this is cool.
OK.
Yes,
let's do.
Maybe
join us this evening. I am Samba and I'm Christian. And for this next
piece, Little Dance Experiment with our audience. So 15 minutes we are
going freeze and try to turn it into the damp.
We thought it'd be good based on our research interests.
A little bit about the creative process. Yeah, for choreographers and
dancers alike. So please take a minute to look underneath your seat if you
are
that
everybody but some of you will find
sit down.
There's a, there's one. Yeah. Yeah. Participant. Yeah. OK. Great
card is a direction. That's why is giving us information about maybe
changing,
changing the paragraph
or maybe adding a to make Thera
Yeah. And the first thing that we're going to do you our original phrase
that and it's pretty short
that we put together with Mary Fitzgerald.
Little bit of
OK, gonna show.
Great. So if you could return to the card, A B and C card, the A card
gives us a qualitative instruction.
Sorry to consider that will probably change um the appearance of the
phrasing substantially in some um the V card is of a choreographic
structure, order, the phrase and the organization of the phrase, the C
card kind of gives us a beginning and an end to make the phrase feel as
complete as we can. So is there any a cards that someone's really excited
about? We need an enthusiast, Lisa,
you hand free
gradually increase the speed of the frame. Another aar Yes. Mhm.
Oh Yes, we've got that one. I great and final suggestion,
do the phrase entirely out of the door
to take an audience vote. So by uh an enthusiastic round of applause and
booing and cheering, go ahead and submit your vote. So increase the speed
of the phrase.
Do the bra as if you're on the moon.
And finally
entire, I threw the phrase entirely on the floor
when you say that OK. OK.
The frame.
So Kristen and I may interpret this completely differently. Um That's the
joy of
Yeah. Yeah. Oh Let me go along just so, you know,
so the big car
they b because
change your original face, a different
one,
enter from the audience
facing and enter from the audience. Each will take your card. Yeah, we're
gonna play to decide who gets what?
From the audience.
Thank you
as if from
get another car. Ok. See card. It's right here. Ready to go and
like a
you know,
take a boat and use that as you who would like to see enter and exit like
a ninja.
OK. Thank you for the
all right. Are you in
one
fine? Yeah.
Yeah.
Mhm The most.
OK. One.
How easy?
Great.
And we will be doing the
change for facing. I will enter from the audience and remote. A ninja. Yes.
Like a ninja
like sure for that.
Mhm The
mhm Car.
He was
who?
Ok.
Yeah.
Call be
well
OK. Oh
I,
no,
yes.
Yeah.
Oh
yeah. I
oh
like you to take a 15 minute intermission.
Mega has that changed
surveys that thank you.
No,
we like to do something for you now.