Concept Development

The last few weeks have been rather hectic in trying to come up with a solid concept for my dance theater. I've spent (too much) time reading contemporary dance theory, thinking about the definition of a theater, and sketching abstractly.

I developed two concepts last week for a brief email crit, neither of which I was entirely content with.
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The first looked at the relationship studies between dancer and spectator- defining the "connection" between the two by changing the environment of the spectator (height relationship to dancer, proximity to stage, lighting, sounds). I did not want a centralized stage, certainly no "picture plane," and the audience memebers to be fixed in their seats.
I went with a radial / spiral plan, with seating and stage "weaving" together loosely. My interest in this scheme remained with the height levels, and was not fixed to any form or horizontal spatial arrangement.




My second concept created a "kit of parts" that could be taken anywhere, attached to anything, defining the dance-space entirely from the "structural elements" found en situ (buildings, trees, light posts, garbage bins, etc). It called upon Expressionist and Cubistic art (the art forms conceived at the same time Tanztheater was), the concept of dance as a temporary artform, and relied heavily on environment to shape the experience (no seating defined for audience members, base lighting provided by sun, prop movement by wind, etc).
The interest in this concept lies for me in its dependence on site for specificity, its direct relation to natural elements, and its rejection of "solidness."



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For more development sketches, things like the one below, please go to my Picassa album here!

Letting my mind wander, I worked on sketches and spaces like this, which are fun to look at but difficult to do at IIT.



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My next steps for our Crit on Wednesday, is to develop a concept somewhere between the two. I'm thinking of interlocking platforms, responsive walls, and simple technologies to combine the elements of relationship (height and light) with the elements of temporary (open air) and environment (shaped by wind, sun, site elements).
Sketches and comments to come soon.