Mary Spring and Lynn Marie worked with teenagers from three villages in Las Lomas, the mountains above San Jaun in the Western Dominican republic. Here is an excerpt of an early rehearsal.
Live performance of FREEFALL’s lie, lay, laid at walkerspace in New York City. Featuring Lynn Brown, Lynn Marie Ruse, Uta Takamura, Carlton Ward, and the music of Ljova Zerban. Co-starring 16 mattresses, a bushel of apples, and a bird’s eye view for the elevated audience.
I danced the month of August away: first in London, then in France,then I took my underpants to Findhorn, Scottland to an intentional community--code for communal living, Scot-style (organic wine and whiskey; naked swimming in the North Sea). I lived in a caravan--code for trailer--with two other dancers. I'll Crane for You is the title of Choreographer Deborah Hay's Solo Performance Commissioning Project. It sounds very grand, but(is and) isn't--DH's lofty ideas rooted in the reality of the body in space.
Twenty performers were given one script. DH's process is super-abstract and mentally unweildy. She is looking for something very, very specific. The pleasure is in groping to find it, of opening to a process far away from daily life, my usual way of handling things. With Deborah there is no new-agey, airy-fairy nonsense, she's all strength, intelligence, grace and vision. She makes everything she asks for do-able, even when your brain is on warp 9. At the end of the project we all sign a contract promising to practice the solo for at least three months before we begin performing it. I was lonely for everyone in the beginning, but once I started practicing I could hear DH's voice, feel my fellow dancers and it began to feel quite companionable. Look for the living room tour of my solo adaptation of I'll Crane for You February 2009.
I selected photos from our performances, photo booths, and benefit party to make a video slideshow that we hope you enjoy. Big shout out to our photographer, Aeric Meredith Gujoun (check him out on facebook), and our composer on the project, Ljova (myspace might be best for him). A big thank you to everyone who posed, supported the project, and support both Lynn Marie and myself. Here’s the video