Role: Performer, Co-choreographer. Description: 5 minute duet choreographed and performed with Carol Dilley using Foreword/Afterword structure. Live music composed and performed by David Reeves.
Project Narrative
This project was initiated by the Bates CollegeDirector of Dance Carol Dilley, who received a grant to work with Seattle-based composer and percussionist David Reeves. Significantly, the creative process of Her Story Repeats Itself was the first time I used the Foreword/Afterword improvisational score in a choreographic process to develop a set work. On the first day of rehearsal, I taught Dilley the first part of the score, which, in brief, consists of a silent accumulation of movements by consensus between two or more dancers in which neither dancer is never leading, and never only following (read more here). The unison is characterized by not just linking the shapes of our two bodies in time, but also linking the initiation of weight paths in space, as well as a specific use of peripheral vision that is inherent in the improvisational score. We choreographed the core of the duet using this score in one rehearsal. We spent several subsequent rehearsals developing the relationship with the music and complicating the choreography by introducing asymmetry. Though we had many opportunities to develop it into a longer piece, Dilley and I found that it seemed best as a short and simple movement work. We did change and develop the work slightly over time. I have included a second clip of a later performance (below) to show the developments. We went on to perform Her Story Repeats Itself in showcase concerts Boston, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; Brunswick, Maine and Lewiston, Maine during 2014 (see details below). We were selected to among many alumni submissions (Dilley is an alumnus) to perform it in the upcoming 50th Anniversary of Dance at the University of Washington.
Performances
- Women@Work. Showcase The Dance Complex. Boston, MA. May 16-17, 2014.
- Bates College Variety Show. Schaeffer Theater, Lewiston, Maine. May 21, 2014.
- East West A Bicoastal Collaboration. Seattle, Washington. June 8, 2014.
- Bowdoin Winter Concert. Brunswick, Maine. December 4&5, 2014.
- Opening Doors: Celebrating 50 Years of Dance at the UW. Seattle Washington. October 16, 2015. (Cancelled due to injury.)
Rachel Boggia 