IMPROVIS-OSOPHIES
THOUGHTS ON THE NATURE OF IMPROVISATION
“Improvis-osophy.” I first heard the word improvisation combined with other words as a student of Penny Campbell, master teacher and vehement defender and explainer of the form. As a college kid, our curriculum was deeply rooted in improvisational studies, so I didn’t blink to hear the word attached to “sophy,” connoting a way to cultivate wisdom, or “ology,” a field of knowledge that could be examined scientifically. Now that I am, ahem…shall we say, a mature practitioner and teacher, I now realize exactly how funny, clever, and also deadly serious is this bit of etymological judo. Penny often called her improvis-osophies and improvis-ologies “raps,” and would give them fake numbers, like “rap # 327,” before launching into a speech about what we had just done, and how we could see it. I’ll do my best to carry on that tradition here. Write me if you want to reply, comment, or add. As themes emerge, I’ll post updates and addenda…
IMPROVISATION TECHNIQUESJENNIFER KAYLE, NOVEMBER 2019
INTERVIEW WITH PAM VAIL Pam Vail is Associate Professor at Franklin & Marshall College and a founding member of critically acclaimed New York City-based Yanira Castro / a canary torsi, with whom she has performed, toured and taught extensively since 1995.
In this discussion, many dancers will recognize themes from their own histories and encounters with “technique.” That’s right – I put that word in quotes! (Some College Dance Departments are replacing the word altogether!) I hope this conversation inspires us to keep asking what that word means in practice, what our movement techniques are supposed to support, and how we should pass-on what we think we’ve learned. Can we look back at our so-called-training and make considered decision about what to do now - with our own practice, with our students, and with our art form? Together we wonder about the relationship between traditional technique and improvisation, consider the idea of improvisation as technique, and wind up proposing new terms (and new courses!). CLICK TO CONTINUE READING |
DOING THE SPLITS:
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CHALLENGING DOMINANT POINTS OF VIEWJENNIFER KAYLE, JULY 2019
INTERVIEW WITH LISA GONZALES Lisa Gonzales teaches at Columbia College of Chicago, and is the Chair of the Dance Program.
In this conversation, a few recurring themes anchored our discussion. As we shared perspectives on feedback and evaluation, we found ourselves centered on issues of inclusivity and exclusivity, power and access, lineage and generational difference. We also found ourselves trying to name what’s being assessed if not the adherence to an aesthetic, and whether ensemble skills might be built and applied regardless of the movement vocabularies or movement values. CLICK TO CONTINUE READING |
FEEDBACK: Three balancing acts and the disappearance of a danceJENNIFER KAYLE, JULY 2019
Over many years of team-teaching with The Architects, we’ve often joked with our students in half-serious warnings: “Hey everybody, settle down – you have it easy – because WE are a lot nicer than OUR teachers.” Later, cue the stories, the times you had your ass handed to you for not paying attention in some crucial way, or for making assumptions that took the energy and synergy out of the work. Cue the stories of learning environments where you are thrashing around in the complexity and ambiguity of the work, on purpose, because that’s what is honing your abilities and sensibilities. Cue the expressions of gratitude for having the great privilege to learn from sophisticated teachers and dance-makers.
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The Improvisation Ensemble Member as "participant Observer"JENNIFER KAYLE, APRIL 2019
Part of my intellectual awakening happened in college as a student of sociology and anthropology, probably born of a basic curiosity to understand people. This burning began much earlier in life, as the sense that people, in general, were fairly inscrutable, and especially my parents. I have a favorite aunt who remains a hero for “explaining” these people to me. Early on, she taught me something about putting on different eyes to look at people when you try to understand them. She had funny ways of saying things that made it easier to understand, e.g. “your father does not ‘do’love.” She had tight little phrases that communicated complexities – like that a parent could care for you as flesh of his flesh but wasn’t going to “do” the moves, the expressions and actions that would make this caring a felt reality.
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THE FORM-THAT-you-are-now-takingJENNIFER KAYLE, APRIL 2019
What follows is a letter I wrote a long time ago. It’s a response to a digital conversation that was sent to fellow artists in the 2011 Chicago Dance Improvisation Festival. The 3-day festival was curated and organized by Lisa Gonzales and hosted at Columbia College, Chicago. Alongside our group, The Architects, some of the featured artists at the 3-day festival were: Bebe Miller, Chris Aiken & Angie Hauser, Nancy Stark Smith & Mike Vargas, and our music collaborators, Arthur Brooks’ Ensemble V. During the festival, I performed with The Architects, and also moderated a public conversation with well-known practitioners and teachers, Susan Sgorbati and Peter Schmitz.
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