It would be a lie to say that I haven’t been missing working in the studio in recent months, but it’s equally true that I am enjoying the extensive time and permission to feed myself. I’m not just referring to the unnecessarily extravagant cooking that has happened. Feeding my practice is inextricably linked with what I find interesting – as dancers we are trained in justifying why what we’re working on is valid. And so despite all of the current situations, here are some of the things I’ve been finding particularly interesting of late:
Drawing: as documentation, aesthetics of individual’s physicality and experimenting with textures and framing. I have noticed that it is the people I have danced with that I have come closest to capturing successfully – hail that tacit knowledge.
Returning to stillness (a familiar area of research for me): approaching stillness as an activity, its purpose in life and performance, and the day I spent waiting for my new plant to grow. Stillness feels different when everything around you is also still, the size of the statement changes, movement is magnified.
Reading: Fiction and the author’s introduction/afterword
Language is by definition articulate, books don’t need explaining but that doesn’t make the author’s reflection any less interesting. When life was busier I regularly skipped this, but it has become my favourite chapter. And if you don’t want any spoilers, read it at the end – like a post-show talk.
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