So my week of being mentored along with two other by Peter Bonehman is over.
What a week!
I am very happy with what I made and apparently it is one of the strongest things I've made. Peter was happy with me. Initially he thought that I was the type that had an idea then couldn't stick to it and went off somewhere else on another idea and on and on. But this week I really forced myself to stick to one thing and develop upwards from there, it is laborious and takes a long time but I enjoyed this.
I think what I got most from the week was having the luxury to be in a space with no pressure and the luxury of time to just create and not have to bang out any old rubbish in order to be on time for something. These days I am rarely in a dance studio doing any dancing, some classes yes but that's it, so being in a studio for 5 solid days being able to think about things and create was just so valuable to me.
His role as mentor is a funny one. They actually don't do very much, he certinaly didn't tell us what to do, that's for sure, but somehow him being there and his suggestions allow you to actually figure out what you're doing, it gives you the space to really see how you work, how you wan't to work, how you don't want to work and so on. I have become very clear about certain things because of this.
When creating a piece, I have come to uderstand that I first need a landscape, I can't just make movement in a studio full of space, there needs to be somewhere within that studio. For example, if I wanted to make a piece with soil then i would have to fill the studio with soil in order to know where I am and then start to create movement, it just doesn't make sense to me to make movement out of thin air, where as if I have a landscape, a world, if you like, then I know where I am then I can start creating. Or if I know what the costume for the piece is, then I have to rehearse in this costume as it affects how the work will be or might change when you come to putting on the costume when it's time for performance.
Having this space to think and take time to think is amazing and Peter allows for that. Choreography and dance, afterall, is an art form, and so artists create it and being an artist isn't as practical as we sometimes have to be which severly takes away from creation and thinking time.
Peter is great and understands your needs, for example, I need to leave the studio quite frequently in order to think straight, if I leave for a few minutes to make a cup of tea, I come back refreshed and ready to go again rather than spending 3 solid hours banging out material, that doesn't work for me. Of course, this is when I am working alone, if I have others in the studio working with me then it's a different story as there is something to bounce off of.
I'm not going to say what I've discovered this week because I think I'll discover it next week or the week after when I've had time away from it and had time to let things settle.
Peter was syaing that he wants to come back to work with me again next year, so I hope it will happen. he used to direct a company which operated as a lab, where artists would come and be given dancers to work with, space and time and so on and then you would create a work there, he would have invited me if it still existed but it doesn't which is a big shame.
So, what's next.
Next week I'm in Glasgow at Dance House working with Choreographer, Ben Wright. We're collaborating on a solo for me. I have no idea what to expect but I am SO excited to be working with together!
It is an exciting time in Glasgow at the moment as the New Territories festival and the National Review of Live Art is happening, it is so exciting! I'm going to try to catch some things, especially at the NRLA.
If you are in Glasgow then you must go! I would like to recommend my friend, Iona Kewney, who is performing at the NRLA Click here for details. Iona danced with Les Ballets c de la B, Wim Vandekeybus, Vincent Dance Theatre, Mark Bruce, Martin Butler and is quite literally out of this world with her manic/ crazed, gymnastic tour de force!
So, off to Glasgow!
:)
