Katie Adams-Gossage and Frédérique Perron
CREATORS JOURNEYS - CM 2024
Driving themes
The human form
The fluid body
The physics of momentum and weight
Goals
Develop specific compositional structures
Move towards a pre-performance form for a performance coming up
Discover unity of elements
Discover ways to transmit choreographer’s internal “self-talk” and instinct into action and meaning for the dancer.
Beginning with
Rock, rope, fluid body
Brought material/action/set phrases to developLine, curve, weight
Desires
To advance instinctual movement tendencies evolving together for several years into phrases and forms
External support, input and feedback from others to test the performative aspects of the project
To make a great progress in making up the piece to be danced in 4 weeks.
Questions
What is the natural duration of the actions?
How long will a single intention hold the audience’s attention?
Is what we are imagining and experiencing visible to the audience?
Challenges
Dedication to determined centrality of the line, of the curve Balancing cerebral thought with organic action
Risk factors- the dancer has a rock attached by a rope to her ponytail at the top of her head. One of the main images is the rock circling at the end of the rope for a long time as she turns. This action appealed both as an abstract unusual image, and also could evoke many symbolic meanings however, how to experiment without injury? How achieve the aesthetic and vision and still be without injury?
How to centre “care” as part of the choreographic material?
Strategies used at the CM to develop material
Creating set structure: first worked one section of the 6 sections of material making it the central piece. The central action became “continuous rotation” (turning) of the dancer, and sometimes also simultaneous rotation of the rock. Then incorporated parts of the material from other earlier sections into the now central piece. These structures became set.
Layering improvisational “tasks” on top of the set material: the “tasks” in themselves were simple (e.g. go up, go down; initiate from your head; twist your spine). The tasks adjusted the performer’s physical organisation of the set work. Coordinating the set with the improvisation gave complex and intriguing results.
Experimented with (“tasks”)
Levels
Directionality – audience-facing, open facing, closed systemGravity-momentum
At showings, let’s watch the watchers to sense if the work affects them. Asked “did something happen for you when watching? “ then the challenge is what to do with that information.
Discoveries
Finding out actual ways and possibilities when the rock comes out of the hair and becomes visible and active.
Decided the compositional structure of the work with the dancer revolving on the spot and the action emanating from her central energy and position.
Being in a community of people who are, at the same time, also working on their creations generated positive momentum to work efficiently, constructively. Reassuring to see how others were coping with their individual processes of developing new work.
The constructive discipline of the ongoing structure of creation time- showing- time-creation-time
The work-show-work-show-work-show resulted in gained confidence in the way (process) they were working, and in the dance being developed
Development and skill-building (practical)
Rock and rope
How to balance the rock on the head, how to get it to appear, how to make it circle on the rope
For performer:
Stamina to sustain slow turning movement for a long time
Endurance to maintain attention to the task of the moment
For choreographer:
Taking a non-moving image and finding physical/dance action
Self-challenging questions
Is this exploration-as-performance interesting to watch?
Does it evoke symbols, metaphors, emotions?
Does it have to evoke anything beyond the actual activity itself?How do i find this out for myself?
Questions from mentors
Is the focus- the body or the rock?
Is the intention of the dance… to be exploring the physics? So we the audience are drawn into your fascination.
What are the intersections of the actions of the rock and the actions of the body? Is one more dominant (eg is the rock leading?), does the dominant shift between them (e.g. the rock’s weight leads, the body’s grounded’ness takes over)
Is this a durational piece? A set time-span? Because either will determine how you proceed in the development of the piece.
Regarding theme:
Is the theme “performance of the research of body-rock-rope” (the physics of it)?
Alternatively, is the exploration working towards a particular symbolic expression or metaphor or story.
Discussion points
Research as performance.
How do intellectual progression and somatic progression “perform” in the same piece?
Dancing then finding “meaning” that is evoked by the dance, i.e. make the movement, notice symbols emerging, edit and “buff” to bring a coherence to the physicality and the symbolic.
To practice
Ways to structure rehearsals and creative process for both efficiency, freedom and momentum. Particularly setting goals in short time-frames, and following through.
Next goals
Finish enough of the piece to present it at the summer performance
What next
Performance at Toronto Summer Fringe Festival 2024
Key words
Research, experimentation, control, line, curve, physics, mechanics, organism, duration, continuity, symbiosis, gravity, atmosphere, sensation, anatomy, task, instinct, intuition
Biographies
Katie Adams-Gossage - Choreographer
Katie Adams-Gossage (she/her) is committed to a holistic dance philosophy, and
consequently centres education, performance, process, relationships, and social context
in equal measure.
As an interpreter, Katie puts emotional and physical intelligence at the forefront of her
contributions. Notable choreographers and presenters for whom she has danced include
adelheid dance projects, Toronto Dance Theatre, Pulga Muchochoma, Half Light Dance
Project, KINAJ, Colleen Snell, Darryl Tracy, and Renee Smith for Peggy Baker Dance
Projects. She recently toured Maxine Heppner’s Nine Bronze Pieces in southern Italy
and is currently dancing in new works by Heidi Strauss and Tavia Christina.
Katie’s artistry is underscored by her time at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre,
where she was recognized with the Kathryn Ash Scholarship and the Leslie Wood
Leadership Award. Upon graduation, she received the Winchester Prize for
choreographic distinction. Since then, her choreographic work has been presented by
Nuit Blanche, SummerWorks, and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Katie is eager to engage in dance pedagogy, and works routinely as class demonstrator
to Peggy Baker, Rosemary James, Pat Miner, and Darryl Tracy at Dance Arts Institute,
Toronto Metropolitan University, and Canada’s National Ballet School. She leads
improvisational classes in Toronto’s professional dance community and adult
contemporary classes at Dance Arts Institute. She is currently unpacking normalised
studio practices as a 2024 artist researcher with Dancemakers.
Frédérique Perron - Soloist
Frédérique Perron (she/her), from Abitibi-Ouest QC, is a dance artist currently based in
Tkaronto (Toronto). She graduated from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre (2022)
where she received a Spring Bursary and was a co-recipient of the Winchester Prize.
Frédérique investigates her fascinations towards sensations seeking and viewer’s
perceptions as a choreographer, dancer and facilitator. Her choreographic researches
have been presented in SABO organized by Marie-Josée Chartier and Darryl Tracy
(2023), Gathering (2023) organized by Meaningful Movement, Nautanki Festival
(2022) and SummerWorks' Lab (2022). She has professionally performed creations by
Katie Adams- Gossage, Frog in Hand, Kaelin Isserlin, Sofía Ontiveros, Near&Far
Projects and Brianna Clarke, among others, in the CAMINOS 2023, Citadel Dance Mix
(2023), dance: made in Canada/fait au Canada (2023), Prospects by Aeris Körper
(2023), Toronto Fringe Festival (2022) and SummerWorks (2022). She is eager to
expand the research with Katie Adams- Gossage for this upcoming Toronto Fringe
Festival.
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