Reflections on the Creative Process for ‘ENSEMBLE’ /(Together)
I began this project knowing there could be many possibilities. But I was uncertain what they shape they would take.
This document carries highlights from my creative process in retrospect, with a collection of selected journal entries and working notes, feedback and comments from collaborators and artist friends attending workshop sessions, the exhibition or the final sharing or who I met at different times leading up to the process and thereafter. It was won’t be as exhaustive a document to give a step by step explanation but rather I would like to focus on pivotal moments and key reflections that might be of greater interest and value to other artists and those interested to know more about the work.
I know that as a choreographer, performer and producer this was a busier time than I had imagined, but I enjoyed seeing the different strands of creation, performance and execution come together and the different perspectives these activities lent to the development of the artistic idea and intention.
This won’t be an very linear narrative but will follow my style of painting and choreography that tends to be more abstract. My mind process feels quite circular, which was a little how things evolved for Énsemble’. Perhaps this draws from the fact that I am Indian and in South-Asia our ways of living are rather rounder, softer and indirect. It was an organic step by step process with a lot of trial and error in the studio to test ideas and many different options before they made any coherent sense. I also used verbal processing as a tool to articulate thoughts. images and intentions and get feedback from mentors/co-creators/dance colleagues to get a sense of how my perception of something was being experienced by them. And at other times when I had a “gut” instinct I tried to investigate this and validate my logic for following such a course of action.
When I think of it now once of the biggest challenges was to actually combine many of the different elements and mediums to find value in why and how I/we used them. Speaking with my collaborators and checking in how different improvised sections or ideas felt for them as well as structuring the visual elements was very useful indeed.
Thank you for visiting this page and I hope that you find this documentation insightful and enjoyable to read.
This project is supported using public funding by Arts Council England with further support by Centre 151, House of Annetta, and Chisenhale Dance.
PHOTO GALLERY
Journal Entries
Rehearsal 1
The first session was with the other dancer, Marso Riviere and myself, I document here some reflections from our feedback session at the end, after some timing of improvising with movement and later exploring charcoal powder drawings and the body.
I asked the questions-
How accessible is the subject matter?
Does it feel relevant?
Are there ways of going deeper?/Was something feeling forced/blocked
Body check in- injury/ health safety
Emotional check in- triggers if any.
Marso”s feedback– He felt he could understand the theme quite well, particularly relating with the theme of displacement (…).
Body check all good, charcoal section was a bit unexpected for an evening out/white socks! It comes of mostly with soap and water but can leave a slight stain, and so we thought if he danced in black socks might be good.
The medium of charcoal powder felt fragile, as it was in test try mode, and the newspapers could rip, the powder spill, a bit restrained. He wasn’t able to let go. Couldn’t really make a good impression, It was awkward, not free, in a big space one could throw yourself without limitation.
He shared a bit about his migration history- mother’s side Sicilian family of immigrants in Tunisia before they became French nationals. Interesting word in context of the charcoal was the pied noir term used negatively to describe such immigrant French workers of the land or army. (…).
Vanessa – Reflection of the day after session / Notes from video review
I think it was a good start to the first day. (…) I think the creative process and workshopping of ideas allowed a release of other tensions.
From the videos there are some interesting moments, and a development trajectory that I see.
- Although we can explore and tap in much more into what to say and how in the movement section for Marso about being trapped (seen in the body through heaviness, shrinking, crushing, suffocation/breathlessness, and convulsing/contorting)- I think that has a good potential to be linked with text (today I did a free flow, some parts were stronger than others, but I was in very early stage improvisation.
- I want to write a text specifically for this and find, without using a mike for now, what can be the intonations/dynamics that work. Although the powdered charcoal is in early stages, I think it can be quite nice…. And it brings me back to the sticks of charcoal, which initially I had thought of crushing and using, but could also be on the paper/canvas and manipulated.
- It’s good that Marso feels comfortable dancing on the dry canvas, a slippery floor is good. But if it’s paper it needs to be thick.
- We tried a bit of a duet with both having movement and probably the floor, minimalistic sections like 2.37-3.50 and later around 5,30 I think, on the floor it feels more real.
- I think I want to avoid just making a pretty duet/partnering section just because we could, but choose what we want to say through this, is it necessary and what do we say.
- We tried a few beginnings, sitting/standing/in a cluster, entering and imagine Artur (musician) in the mix but as yet I’m not convinced by these, and perhaps it needs Artur in the room. But a good beginning and the right beginning always needs a bit of time so its quite crucial.
Other notes, it felt very good to have a schedule as a ready reference, I adapted this slightly, sometimes changing the order of activity or for instance using the charcoal powder and feet over charcoal and hands, but I was able to cover a lot of contextual details on the subject, its source, my story and focussing on one key incident, as well as interpretations of bodies in the space and why its an interdisciplinary project.
Probably it’s not an equal division of time on each, but that was fine to devote more time to some topics over others. And we can always pick up the topics needing more conversation later.
I think Marso was really receptive, and aspects of the themes were easier than others. So we have made a start in the movement material both to find a connection with bodies and uncovering some raw movement ideas. The image of my sisters was useful for me to think of the 3 of us as connecting sister voices. I was struggling to be convinced to find the relationship I have to versions of my self- in theory it exists, but personally I might need more self reflection on separating these voices and what they say. They are there though…could be some re-study of Freud Id, Ego & Superego might be helpful.
Would be nice to have the conflict between the 3 voices/ id-supergo, ego/ showing my internal conflict along the way in the decision to move.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html (preliminary article, more to follow)
Rehearsal 2
Feedback questions:
What felt like it worked well?
Were there areas we could have gone deeper?
What was the feeling from a partnering moment?
Where does the echo of Artur’s presence, body, sound in space feel like in all this?
Marso’s check in for how to navigate the physicality of these personal stories or someone else, and a feminine life experience in a masculine bodily expression?
Marso’s feedback
He felt it was a productive day. We did lots of things he said in comparison to the day before. The research felt more intensified and he was given a lot of information. What he really enjoyed was when I took a strong direction in shaping the Trapped movement sequence ( leg hook as a signature move) defining a quality i.e. heaviness. He wasn’t sure whether it was too early or not, but feels it sets the tone well. Before he felt like he was wandering, but it feels better to focus more clearly on something and push deeper into it.
Some other parts of the research really hard to obtain/ access such as the breathlessness/ convulsing gut or knotted feeling. For Vanessa it looked very authentic but he was finding it hard to find it in the same level of realness.
Flocking good in the duet felt good. We may not have found what we want fully but already closer than yesterday.
Text was very rich in the canon, but also different to yesterday. More comprehensive in a way.
His body felt a bit sore, guess a bit normal. He was a little under the weather just before research began and probably still fighting that.
General fatigue from travel/ work but alright overall.
Vanessa – Reflection of the day after session / Notes from video review
I think the duet of two bodies moving, feels really hard to access…like its a stone block…but we need to chisel a statue…I felt less inclined to try…it means more vulnerability but on Arturs advice decided to try more intentionally…we seem to be inching forward in a duet ‘ connaissance’ but its good to dig. I am struggling though to be really vulnerable in what I want to say.
It felt good to try academic text, re-read for myself and read to Marso sections from my thesis. The second breaking + movement section on identity feels strong. I was just reading the text but it can be more dynamic and nuanced. These were chunks as an opposite to yesterday’s free flow. And it felt stronger already.
On Marsos request we worked only on movement with me directing rather than free flow to embody the essence of being trapped with a heaviness as an incentive. I quite like how this is shaping up.
Last section on text and canons nice. It was an in the moment French translation but can be cleaner if written before. We tried the canon idea Artur gave.
Artur: The text should have been read in unison not as a canon!
Rehearsal 3
Vanessa’s reflection:
I think the shared practice warm up was a great way to connect our diverse dance backgrounds and exchange information. There is a threading floor sequence Marso shared which if I can perfect can be nice in part/fragments for some if our duets. He will also teach this in the workshop.
The sarees have been bought, I need the thread and the wooden pegs to to a test try. Pierre said we can store the sarees at the centre and also the canvas. He thinks the 2.10 width is a bit small and so we are likely to need to stitch to canvases. To create 4.2 x4.2 perhaps.
Working on the duet today saw constructive progress forward…I quite like the movement quality/motifs/images and intention that is emerging and a strong connection through identical movement. If we can be perfectly synced in timing will be nice. Will continue working on that Saturday. It would be good to have more structured music for this section, and follow somewhat a level change. Or we dance in silence and Artur releases a lullaby after?
The last part was working on the Trapped solo that is likely to have me on text. Not sure if Artur joins in as well, it could work well.
We chatted a bit on the ideas about beauty of diversity, freedom, happiness…Marso to share more on the politics of hiphop for me on Saturday.
Feels like a lot of work is cut out for us and clear sections are emerging.
I did some charcoal sketches with chalk while Marso was moving. These felt great to capture his energy and intensity.
Rehearsal 5
* A potential score*
We stand in the centre of the canvas. Speaking together. Trio. Text 1.30
Artur and Marso leave…abandoning me.
Maybe I step forward and start solo, they watch and exit upstage left, or sit on the sidelines to watch. I remain close to the audience more downstage right. I need some kind of sound/music/field recording for this.
Vanessa solo Sense of being trapped, frustration
Vanessa and Marso duet- movement empathy – silence, added sound
Marso Vanessa struggle dissonance, Marso leaves to sarees
Artur saxaphone
Escape- Vanessa text– charcoal and hip hop on paper
Escape continued- Freedom- Artur and Vanessa – Action painting duet
Without painted feet, but Artur with paint, and vanishing footprints.
Marso freedom celebration/ Vanessa continues painting/ – crazy happy dance-? Artur plays
Ending: Trio text speak
Rehearsal 6
Vanessa’s practice:
Vanessa to work on painting section a bit more extended
Painting & dance research- acrylics seascape, salt, spices…. Collage element.
Salt- and paint- the political context of salt.’
What are the performative stories that can be told with live painting for this piece. Why am I painting instead of dancing? What is Marso and Artur doing then? What is revealed through this painting, and choreographically which are the sections where painting occurs? Why is this painting important-
When I paint in real life, it’s usually to share what is unspeakable, unmovable, unwritable, what I am unable to express in other ways- usually it’s an expression of trauma and pain, and it’s a way to heal, but it can also be joyful, celebratory, showing love or an aspiration of love and desire. But how can using paint in this piece, when its contrived perhaps, be something deeper, authentic, and expressing a part of the picture that can’t be shown in the same way or with as much effectiveness/ power as with only movement and sound.
What are the points of intersection? How is contributing to the scenography- the senses- smell of paint. White canvas- black linoleum. There is a division.
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