"Scent of Sky" was performed at Source Theatre on June 30th and July 2nd as a part of 'mash-up' series. We have one more performance left on July 5th, Sunday @ 2pm. This series 'mash-up' is an interdisciplinary project where artists previously unfamiliar with each other meet and create work together, finding a new and innovative (?) expression. Photo courtesy: C. Stanley Production (One thing I noticed and appreciate much about Colin Hovde's photos was that they capture a feeling of both old and new. )
My partner Alberto Gaitan is a sound and multi-media artist. He works with small-size sculptural medium such as sound bug and LED lights. I had an opportunity to 'wear' these devices on my body. Although the idea of 'wearing' certain devices is not new, how I was able to play with this new environment and how my body was affected was a new experience for me.
The citypaper review (see the link below) made me think of what is 'innovative' now and does it really matter? Dancewise, we have already gone through the era of classical, modern, and post-modern. Now everything is called 'contemporary', reflecting what is happening in today's world.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/07/02/source-festival-mashes-art/
Speaking of what kind of combination could generate more innovative mash-up, I recall the performance called "Chat-dangerously easy liaison" I saw in Prague in summer 2007. From the description of the piece, I was expecting some 'already done, pedantic story-telling'. However, the performance was completely different from what I had expected. The way they told the story was so refreshing.
This performance was the result of Archa Theatre's collaboration series. This particular combination was: (2) beatbox performers, (1) jazz singer/actress, (1) graphic designer, and (1) puppeteer/actor. What they came up with was something i had never seen in the visual/physical/auditory/sculptural sense. It was both presentational/representational. It was both high tech (with live video projection) and low tech (using human voice). It was digital and analog at the same time. They played with the distance from the audience. The technology distancing the audience was combined with casual and intimate audience interaction. The language they used was mostly Czek combined with some sparse English, which also off-balanced the feeling of the piece and created a jarring tempo. Of course, Czech has a long history of optical illusions, but this piece really combined the exploding youth energy in the beat box with internet and computer age and still maintained the old feeling and the weight of history resided in the performer. The collaborators worked and created the piece together for 6 months in the performance space, so what came out was very organic piece blossoming with imagination and creativity. It was one of the series Archa Theatre (http://www.archatheatre.cz/en/menu/archa_lab/themes-and-projects/projects/159.html) fully supported the creation of.
One difference I noticed was that these performers were all multi-talented. The beatbox performers could have been easily stand-up comedians and actors. The jazz singer was a dancer and an actress. Even the graphic designer guy was a singer and the actor. The puppeteer was an excellent actor and a gymnast (later I saw his one man show and was blown away by his physical ability - use of trampolin, metal structure, and puppet). They seem to cross train the performers there - or is the boundary just much more blurry?
