22 September 2009

Tonight's rehearsal was absolutely amazing!! I have to say that working with a cast of eleven really scared me at first, but with the eleven dancers I've got, it's like heaven on Earth. My dancers come into rehearsal ready to work, and they give their all from the minute rehearsal starts until the minute rehearsal ends. I could not have a better cast!! I appreciate their hard work more than they could possibly know!! I am CONSTANTLY impressed with their abilities in terms of performance. When i ask them to dance like individuals, they each have a personal style that snaps, crackles and pops. At the same time, when I ask them to dance in unison, the less advanced dancers step it up and the more advanced dancers tone it down, at which point we reach a very happy medium!!

First, we cleaned a phrase I put together last week, and added an improvisation we've been working on for a while, as well as the audition phrase I used this semester for DanceWorks. This is a rough combination, yet at the same time there are many good moments happening that I were purely by chance. I love the focus of my ten dancers, and the abandon with which Billy dances. I have to give Billy a shout out after tonight's rehearsal!! The boy is a sponge when it comes to choreography!! I give him a phrase and a concept and he runs with it!! He worked it out in rehearsal tonight!! It was magnificent to watch!! He grasps whatever I throw out at the cast so well, and he really assists the others and leads by example!! I am lucky to be working with him this semester!! (NOTE: In this video, Billy was improvising while the cast danced around him. We have set up time to rehearse 1-on-1, to solidify his movement during these periods of travel for the rest of the dancers. I am so excited to see what we can come up with in a matter of a couple rehearsals!!)

We switched gears during rehearsal and worked on a floor phrase that I have been playing with in my head for the past couple weeks. I do not yet know where I see this phrase coming into play in the piece, but I do know that I want to explore with more movement on the floor. There were some concepts that were foreign to the dancers, so we took some time working these "tricks" out and breaking them down. I appreciated the drive and determination my dancers showed in their learning this material!! While it was not performed perfectly, they are all WELL on their way to nailing this combo and I was so proud of all of their hard work!!

I am VERY excited to see what develops next rehearsal!! I am looking forward to seeing the phrase we put together in a couple of different ways. I hope my dancers watch the floor phrase they performed tonight, as well, because I think that they will have a better grasp of it after seeing themselves perform.