Tag Archives: Terpsichore D’Amour

Sep22

Terpsichore D’Amour at Trails and Vistas, Terpsichore Diaries, Part VII.

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Terpsichore D’Amour at Trails and Vistas, Terpsichore Diaries, Part VII.

Trails and Vistas is now over and our debut performances as Terpsichore D’Amour were a success. Spooner Lake is an absolutely stunning place to spend time; it’s all groves of whispering aspen and wildflowers, the air sweetly scented with sage. We arrived the day before performances to allow ourselves time to scout out our site and see how the choreography worked.

 

The first run-through was a disaster. Granted, we were tired from the long (almost 4 hours) car ride up to Tahoe, but… we were basically trying to dance in a swamp. Or maybe it was just a bog. Either way, the ground was dangerously bumpy and uneven, the grass was knee high, itchy and riddled with sticky burs that clung to our clothing. The dog went exploring only to come back covered in so many burs that she looked brown instead of black. Things were looking tenuous at best.

 

 

Dancing in nature is not at all like dancing in a studio or on stage. We knew this already, and thought we had prepared with outdoor rehearsals. However, circumstances dictated that we had to make do with the site we were given, so we got creative. We moved everything up onto the hiking trail and danced a few feet on either side of it. It was a small space, but we realized this was probably a good thing because we would be performing so many times. We took out the jumps and simplified a few other steps that were dangerous to try on uneven ground. We pounded down the bumps with a giant log. We were ready.

 

The audience departed on their docent-lead hikes every 15 minutes, which meant they arrived at our site…. um… whenever they got there. Some groups were fast, some incredibly slow. Sometimes they arrived only moments apart. In between each performance we chugged water, kept a sharp eye out for the next group, laughed a lot, discussed what was and wasn’t working in the dance. Sometimes there was even enough time to cop a squat and go pee… but we had to be lightning fast- we could never really be sure when the next group would round the corner.

 

It all came together; choreography, teamwork, costumes, makeup. For the first time ever, dance and theater both came into play. It was such a different dynamic to interact with my dance partner and the audience, all of it framed by nature.

 

It was an accomplishment.

 

The stats:

 

• 27 performances over 2 days

 

• 26 installations, 18 performing groups

 

• ~ 750 people

 

• countless hours lost sleep (dreams are ridiculously vivid at altitude)

 


 

 

Our friends raved. But they are our friends, and therefore inherently biased. However, we did have a final moment of glory late in the day on Sunday, just as we were almost through. A father wandered down the path, trailed by two boys on bicycles, ages 4 and 6 (approximately). He stopped.

 

“We saw the show this morning,” he offered. “You guys were our favorite performers.”

 

 

 

 

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Sep12

Guerilla Art in the Park: Terpsichore Diaries, Part VI.

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Guerilla Art in the Park: Terpsichore Diaries, Part VI.

 

kids

Dance rehearsals for Terpsichore D’Amour are still happening in our friendly, neighborhood park, at least for the immediate future (weather permitting). We run through our piece once, twice, three times with a rotating cast of overenthusiastic ball-fetching dogs, vigilant moms and goggle-eyed toddlers who line up at the fence, watching every move. I can’t help feeling like there’s something important happening here; we are making dance public, more accessible, more tangible and meaningful, bringing it to people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to be exposed.

 

Having direct contact with an audience is a completely foreign concept for me. During the many years I danced as a professional ballerina I never once had the opportunity to look at my audience. They always remained one step removed, a sea of heads in the darkness. It’s far more intimate to have eye contact, to witness the look on a person’s face. I can’t say I’m completely comfortable with it, but I’m getting more and more opportunities to settle into the new paradigm.

 

I’ve had a lot of moms ask what we are up to, and the feedback has all been positive. We’ve both enjoyed our park rehearsals enough to begin planning a performance circuit at other parks throughout the county.

 

I like to think that we are leading by example. When we are out there doing what we do, we are sending a message: this is what 40-something can look like… we are moms and we are also creative people… artistic expression has value. By creating this troupe we have given ourselves (and anyone who watches a rehearsal or show) free artistic license to be creative, no holds barred.

 

 

It’s a reminder that life is full of complexities and layers of being. It is energizing to be a part of something that brings joy to ourselves and others. This aspect of my being feeds my soul so I have more to offer the rest of the areas of my life. If dogs and toddlers are interested, all the better.

 

 

 

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Aug30

Preparing For Performance- Terpsichore Diaries Part IV

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Preparing For Performance- Terpsichore Diaries Part IV

tahoe

If you’ve ever wondered what goes into getting prepared for a dance performance…

suffice to say it’s a lot. We have less than three weeks of countdown until our first performances as a company. Although we have been rehearsing for the past few months, we are still refining the beginning and closing segments of choreography. They must be fine-tuned because Trails and Vistas is not your typical performance venue; the show will occur outside along a trail, with the audience standing and no clearly delineated performance space.

 

Right now we are working out the following…

• Crowd management: we plan to use props (large decorated staffs) to indicate the border of our performance area.

• Our characters: the archetypes we will embody during performance.

• Moving around during the opening and closing chants instead of standing still, as originally planned.

• Clearly indicating the end of a dance that has no music. If we stand still long enough, will it be obvious?

 

We both have quite a bit going on in our personal lives…

busy work lives, household changes of casts of characters, injured children, anniversaries… it’s interesting juggling it all. While we may not always have full-blown energy by the time we arrive at rehearsals, we always arrive and we always accomplish something. The piece moves forward. We move forward as performers. Our relationship as fellow dance company members continues to grow.

 

We will need to be in tip-top condition for the show…

since we will end up doing this piece at least twenty times over the course of two days… at over 6,000 feet altitude. I devote time each day to improving my (cardiovascular) level of fitness- the dog and I run up the trail behind my daughter’s school. Here’s how I’m getting fit:

 

• a million sit-ups (which I hate, in my heart of hearts, and can only do if I put on inspiring music)

• push-ups

• free weights for arm strength

• core-strengthening exercises like plank pose

• plies, plies and more plies

 

And dancing as often as possible, of course. The most exciting part of the whole venture is that these performances are merely a beginning of things to come in the future. Even as we prepare for the end results on September 17th and 18th, we are already planning the next performances… and the next.

 

The other day as I was perusing an article about New York City Ballet, I was shocked to see that one of my ex-colleagues is still dancing with them. And then I realized that I am doing the same thing… only I’m doing it on my terms. I’ve got to admit it feels good.

 

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

 

 

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Aug19

Dancing With the Stars: The Terpsichore Diaries Part 3

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Dancing With the Stars: The Terpsichore Diaries Part 3

park

Dancing with the stars is a great description for the dance rehearsals for Terpsichore D’Amour. Most of the time we practice outside since our upcoming performance in September is going to be outside. It makes perfect sense, after all, since we need to be comfortable dancing on the same sort of terrain that we will use for performances. We have had a few rehearsals in a traditional studio, but dance studio space comes at a premium and when you rent by the hour it’s not always easy to get the space when you need it. And really, it’s kind of nice to dance in a natural setting for a change, looking at nothing but trees, grass and blue sky (and easy on the wallet).

I live close enough to our rehearsal space in the park that I usually walk. I’d much rather walk than drive whenever possible. I could get used to this, was my thought as I walked over for rehearsal the other day. It’s pretty cool to dance under the big blue sky, nothing but you and the clouds and stars overhead. It’s free, heck it’s freeing. Honestly, I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing and admiring our ingenuity for thinking of it in the first place.

Until I got to the spot where we usually rehearse and was confronted with:

IMG_2261

Um. Okaaaaay.

Getting a dance performance off the ground, especially with a brand new dance company that you’ve made up from scratch, requires a certain degree of flexibility and the ability to think quickly on your feet. Then again, so does parenthood, so I’ve had a fair amount of practice in on-the-spot decision making over the past eight years since I became a mom.

What did I do? I did nothing.

Okay, that’s not exactly true. I laughed about it. Then I stretched and waited for my dance partner to show up.

It all worked out, of course. We just shifted down into a different (much busier) area of the park. We performed to an audience of energetic toddlers and the caregivers and hyperactive dogs against the l whining of chainsaws and grinding of heavy machinery.

I figure it was the perfect preparation for the real thing.

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