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.....

Homeostasis

Homeostasis usually refers to the physiological state whereby the body seeks to maintain an internal stability or balance and will work hard to return that state if something brings it out of balance.  I think there is also a desire for emotional homeostasis wherein we seek emotional equilibrium and are very uncomfortable when a situation threatens to disrupt our balance.  This presents a dilemma when delving into the psyche for material for a dance. 

How do we explore personal topics that are potential emotional minefields to get at the material that can be transformed into something that speaks to an audience?  This problem presented itself during our recent rehearsals for our new work on perception/memory.  In mining their pasts for material, the dancers found it painful to continually return to emotionally charged memories when rehearsing and it negatively affected their feelings about the rehearsals themselves.

 However isn't it possible to use the past to come up with initial material, and then let the kinesthetics of the movement itself become the point of attention in subsequent rehearsals rather than the original memories?  The movement then becomes imbued with emotional intensity and honesty as the dancer hones and works on it, so that each movement has an emotional resonance.   And what about holding a state of uncomfortableness while continuing to work and not having that state negatively impact you?  We're called on in life to endure feeling uncomfortable and to learn how to function while in that state.

 It requires that we be able to be in the state of unease and at the same time maintain a certain detachment, not denying what we are feeling, but at the same time not immersing ourselves in the feeling.  I think a lot of learning can happen in that kind of situation and that ultimately it is a tool for growth.