Intoxication by guest blogger Amanda Adams

As the company enters into a new phase of the creating process we are exploring the sense of intoxication, which relates to many aspects in our lives.  We can be infatuated with a new presence in our lives, babies, relationships, etc. or in its most literal sense of being "under the influence." I have watched from a distance incidences of intoxication between those passing by me on walks or even as we rehearse on site and it seems that this is a sense that plays a huge role in our existence, even if we do not recognize it as such.  Our emotions play a big part in this.  As humans we relate to our experiences through feelings, because the way something makes us feel is a determining factor in how we react to certain situations.  No person experiences an incident in the same manner, we all have different perspectives and situations affect each one of us differently.

The tough part is taking this idea  of intoxication into the creative process and relating it to plants.  Can intoxication be the same in a human and a plant?  How do they relate and how do they differ?  What induces intoxication and what role do plants play?  Do plants experience intoxication?  Of course we have to state the obvious that a human is a human and a plant is a plant and unless the ds dancers become plants in the most literal way then we will never know if plants becomes intoxicated.  Adding to this challenge is how to put all of this to movement.  One of the important things to remember is that intoxication takes many forms in all beings, so we begin with what brings on the sense of intoxication. Each of the ds dancers has been presented with numerous movement excercises in rehearsal relating to this topic and each one of us interprets it completely differently from one another. The most interesting thing about the process that Donna leads us in is being able to watch and see how different each of us are as individuals and how differently we all experience intoxication in our lives. Surely, if seven dancers interpret this sense of being differently, then plants, if they experience intoxication at all, must also experience it differently from one another.  If only we could have a conversation or hold a forum with a representative of every genre of plant.....

The Flowering of Desire

"We grow like flowers, and bear desire, The odor of human flowers"  Richard Henry Stoddard

The color, shape and perfume of a flower, the sweetness of a fruit reflect a plant’s desire for propagation by drawing in other life forms that will spread its seeds. The Flowering of Desire examines desire from the plant’s point of view as well as the human desires that connect us to plants.  Inspired initially by the book "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan I began to research the fascinating and complex world of plant biology.  Humans have such an intertwined relationship with plants, both affecting and being affected by them, and desire seems a perfect gateway to explore this relationship.  Man and plant share the desire for propagation or procreation, and they fulfill this desire in similar ways.  A flower lures insects to it using whatever means it can, even by appearing to be something that it isn't, such as another insect.  Similarly, humans use a variety of methods to attract mates including attire or lack of, perfume and certain types of behavior.  Working improvisationally with the dancers we began to explore topics such as nourishment, territorial possession, the search for light and allurement.  We presented our first performance of the work in November, 2011 in an urban park, using the site of the park as further inspiration for the dance.  Composer Ken Christianson collaborated with us and performed live with other musicians using a mix of prerecorded and live music.   The creative process was extremely rewarding and the performance was very successful.  We're gearing up for our next incarnation of The Flowering of Desire on March 3, 2012.  More on our current process in the next blog post.