This blog is moving!

Hello everyone! This blog is officially moving onto my new website, shaynakeller.com, at the following address: http://shaynakeller.com/blog

I'll be posting updates from my upcoming trip to NY, where we'll be rehearsing for some new projects and adaptations of outdoor experiments. Hope to see you all at the new site!

Much love,
Shayna

Even More Photos

Hi-Desert Stars

I can't even begin to describe all the excitement that has been brewing 'round these parts over the past week! We have been extending our work outward into the surrounding desert community, teaching workshops at Brilliant Dance (www.brilliantdance.com), Instant Karma Yoga and interviewing with Courtney Vaughn from the Hi-Desert Star, our local newspaper.

Here's me, demonstrating fundamental techniques in floor-work (photo cred: EB)

The participants of our workshop at Brilliant Dance, traveling across the floor with multiple points of contact (photo: EB)


Our project, on the front page of the Hi-Desert Star!

In the midst of all this excitement, we also experimented with a dance for camera with filmmakers EB Landesberg and Dikega Hadnot:

Here's Dik, setting up a shot atop the rocks of the Indian Cove Amphitheatre (photo: EB)

Sam, me, Brittany & Dik (left-to-right), exploring camera angles (photo: EB)

A Process, in Images

Another amazing rehearsal! Thought I'd share some photos we took toward the end of our workday:

We lifted dynamically,

introduced fierce structural elements,

landed in stillness with small gestures,

and were rewarded with a fine sunset.

An Eventful Week

Well, it certainly has been a while since I've posted anything! This is, in large part, due to the fact that we (Brittany, Sam & I) have been running around, busy as bees. Our explorations have been incredibly fertile and the weather has been ideal for playing outside. We've been delving deep into JTNP's geology, terrain and rhythms, generating a wealth of movement and structural ideas based on our daily practice.

Brittany & Sam, exploring walking patterns and friction on a large granite boulder

We are gearing up for all the amazing events that will be taking place over the next couple of weeks, including:

- Workshops at Brilliant Dance in Yucca Valley (see www.brilliantdance.com for a complete description) on March 9th (6:45-8:15pm) & 14th (5:30-7:00), and one at Instant Karma Yoga (March 13th, 11:00am)

- Shooting a dance for camera with the most talented EB Landesberg & Dikega Hadnot this week

- Performances on March 19th & 20th at the Indian Cove Amphitheatre at 5pm. (I have some wonderful news about this: we were able to reserve a group campsite for the night of Sunday, March 20th, which will accommodate up to 30 guests and 8 cars! So let me know soon if you're coming down and planning to camp.)

Well, I am pretty exhausted and can't stay up too much longer. But we will be posting videos soon! They will include rehearsal footage and dialogue about the process. It is all so exciting.

Changing Landscapes

On a REALLY exciting note:
Sam and Brittany, two of the wonderful dancers who are willing to join me on this crazy journey, are arriving tomorrow from Brooklyn and San Francisco, respectively. I cannot wait to begin running around this vast desert with them, experimenting with some of the scores I've been dreaming up over the past six days in near isolation.

I'll keep my observations brief today. I've been looking the way light can so dramatically alter our sense of depth and flatness. There are certain times of day when the rocks look like they are pasted onto flattened canvases, and other times when their depth could not be more pronounced. Yes, of course, this is determined in large part by the lens I'm using and the position of the sun in relation to the rock - but this agency of the viewer, photographer, or choreographer/dancer in this case, is such a crucial part of how we're composing the space! I'm thinking of the many ways this can be applied to dance. In our rehearsals we will establish a practice of becoming both passive parts of the landscape and active elements of a more interactive environment.

To me, the shadows in the above photo appear to delineate space on a single plane, dividing the photo almost graphically.

Similarly, this graphic silhouette seems very two-dimensional. It is much more striking, however, due to the extreme contrast in color and brightness.

This image reveals a greater sense of depth. The rock feels much more animated and confronts the viewer with its texture, color and shape.

I'll be back soon with news of upcoming workshops, performances and notes on our process!

Snow!

This is exactly the kind of morning that calls for a giant mug of chai!

Last night the winds were howling fiercely through the rocks behind my house. It was the first time the desert environment actually seemed hostile. Granted, I say this with a full belly from inside my well lit, well heated home. But just imagine! What if I hadn’t been able to distract myself from these spooky sounds with the soothing voice of Ira Glass and his cast of This American Life characters?

I woke up this morning to my first high-desert snowstorm, unlike anything I’ve seen before. Having lived through four east coast winters, I thought I knew snow. This is certainly not the case. Somehow the sky is still bright and clear in places, though the clouds are covering the sun. The snow isn’t sticking, but continues to fall in large flakes, often moving quickly in several directions at once.

The surfaces of the rocks and plants are wet, and the moisture is diffusing the otherwise harsh desert sun, so colors out here are really popping today. The reds of the bushes and rocks brighten in contrast with the greens of the yuccas and Joshua Trees (thanks all you Wesleyan film nerds for my second-hand color theory education).

I’m bundled up with plenty of blankets, music, journals and books. On today’s playlist: Arthur Russell’s World of Echo and Harry Partch’s Cloud Chamber Music. On today’s reading list: Joshua Tree National Park Geology and Deleuze & Guattari’s A Thousand Plateaus. Should be an interesting mind-warp.

I’ve already encountered a few hikers and Search & Rescue people walking by the LHRS. When people ask me what I’m doing here, I usually let them know that I’m the current Artist-In-Residence, living in the park for the next month. They usually ask what my medium is, to which I respond, “Dance, I’m a choreographer.”

The following conversation inevitably occurs:

“Oh,” says the person with a blank stare, “Wait, so you’re dancing out here? I don’t get it. I was expecting you to be a photographer or painter or something.”

“Yep, well, I’m choreographing a piece to be performed among the rocks.” I always follow that one with a big, reassuring smile.

“Oh.” There’s usually a long pause and puzzled face here, after which the person either says, “Good luck,” and abandons the conversation, or continues with something like, “Well, what are you planning to do?”

(I like the second response better.)

I go into a brief explanation of the project, something like, “We’re researching the elements and processes of geological change, here in the park, as they relate to our bodies and to movement.” And of course, I throw in a mention of the performance on March 19^th & 20^th at the Indian Cove Amphitheatre.

For me there is nothing more challenging and invigorating than one of these conversations. I would not be surprised if someone were puzzled by the concept of dancing in a spaceship (ooh!), or creating a piece using just remote-controlled cars. But, dancing outdoors? It seems like nothing could be more intuitive! And in terms of introducing this choreographic practice to the Western concert dance tradition… well, Isadora, I thought you had that one covered ages ago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbhECiz2TtY&feature=related).

So, why is this concept so perplexing? First of all, there are social, political, geographic and economic realities that cannot be ignored. Cultural literacy is rarely emphasized in our current public education system. Art histories, especially the vital voice of dance, are underrepresented in discussions of our society’s past and present. Advocates of dance and creative movement education have voiced concerns about the limited (and limiting) nature of physical education in the schools. There is even less exposure to experimental movements in the creative arts in rural areas, where a dance student might only be able to find classes in ballet or competitive cheer. These are genuine concerns, which deserve a more lengthy discussion than I can provide here.

For now, the “why” is not as relevant as the “what” of the situation. The fact remains that for many people (though, of course not all), dancing in a national park seems very strange. My time here is so limited that all I can hope to do is give people a taste of the unfamiliar. Hopefully this work can serve as a small introduction to the vast world of site-specific dance, and to all the questions and considerations of space, time, energy and history that accompany this form.