Home Front Rescheduled for February 2010

Antaeus Dance's upcoming performance of Home Front have been postponed until February of 2010. New works by Jenita McGowan and Marissa Glorioso can be seen then at Pilgrim Congregational Church. I will post more information in the new year.

Joan

Prospect & Refuge

Sherri & Doug. Enough said. JM

Prospect

Here is one of the rooms in which I would like to dance/film for Prospect & Refuge. You will see collaborating choreographer/director Doug Lodge at the end of the clip.



I was a bit rabid when talking about it with the dancers at our last rehearsal. I do think they were more excited than frightened, even though I told them I wanted them to jump through a hole in the floor to the level below (roughly a two-story drop). Many ideas, only some will be doable, even fewer of those will work. We shall see what develops!

Joan

Locations

Doug and I scouted a couple locations for Prospect & Refuge while I was in Meadville these past two weeks. I am grateful to Mr. Jones and Mr. Tucker for allowing us to explore the old farm house and factory respectively.

The farm house is falling down, dangerous only if one is not aware of the surroundings, and otherwise totally seductive. The owner told us a few stories about the place and expressed difficulty in having the place torn down...

not because of logistics, but because it is a piece of history and it is difficult being the one responsible for eradicating it. At one time it was a lovely home. It currently sits in a pasture, providing storage for hay and a temptation to passers by. With Mr. Jones' permission, Doug and I gave in to temptation and explored.

I do not think it advisable to actually dance in the house. The structure itself could make for some great footage generally speaking, and the dancers could safely be placed within the structure. I continue to dream.

The factory was absolutely wonderful! There are many spaces that could easily be used for performance (with some rehab). One building in particular struck Doug and we explored it at length. A heart felt Thanks! to Mr. Tucker for giving us a tour, talking to us about the rehabilitation of old factory/warehouse facilities, and allowing us to explore further on our own.

I definitely want to go back to the factory with the dancers. Doug and I are hoping to do so in October when the Company is there to perform MOLT at Allegheny College.

What I found particularly enticing about both spaces is the manner in which nature is reclaiming the sites. In both cases plant life was in relative abundance (all it takes is a little moisture) and animal life had clearly taken up residence (just like the wood chuck in my garage and the skunk under my porch).

Ideas abound in such places and I am indebted to Doug for doing all of the leg work and making arrangements for us to see the spaces. Others were not accessible to us and the hunt continues in PA while, in OH, Antaeus Dance prepares for upcoming appearances in the Playhouse Square Dance Showcase, Tremont Arts & Culture Festival, and CPT's Pandemonium.

Joan

Photos by Joan Meggitt

Dance Intensive Wrap Up

The Allegheny Summer Dance Intensive finished up on Friday. Shanna, Sherri and I had a total of 31 students, up from the usual 16-18. I am so glad that we did not limit attendance to a smaller number. I met a lot of new people, worked again with returning students, and even taught a young man whom I first met when he was 11 (he originated a role in a dance that Holly Labbe Cole and I choreographed in 2001).

One of the wonderful things about Allegheny College is that, from the first (way back in 1988), I became part of a community, versus a class. I hope the incoming/returning students have a similar experience. I appreciate being able to meet the place and the people (what and who they are now) with who I am now. There is certainly a lot of nostalgia connected to the College for me - I began dancing there, I met my husband there, I learned from so many wonderful people who changed my life - but that relationship continues to evolve...so while I continue to dance there, meet my husband there (usually for an Antaeus Dance concert), and learn from great people, it is never the same road twice. For that I am grateful.

Joan

Photo of 2009 Allegheny Summer Dance Participants by Scott Choffel

Allegheny Summer Dance Intensive

The annual Summer Dance Intensive at Allegheny College is moving into its second week. Shanna, Sherri and I have been teaching classes in modern dance technique, improvisation and composition, yoga, and massage. In addition, I am working with nine participants who are learning a piece from my repertory. The dance will be performed at Allegheny College later this year.

There are 28 participants, all of of them energetic and willing to try just about anything we throw at them. When not teaching, I have enjoyed taking classes from Shanna and Sherri.

We are staying with a friend, fellow Alleghenian Scott Choffel, who has kindly opened up his home to us. We are having a delightful time on that front. We are 45 minutes away from the college by bike and have ridden our bikes to and from the studio every other day.

While I'm here I have also been in conversation with Doug Lodge about our new work, Prospect & Refuge. I've opened a huge can of worms...can't wait to dig in! Tomorrow we visit an abandoned farmhouse, a possible location for filming. Later in the week we visit an old factory. Look for photos from those excursions in future posts.

Joan

Antaeus Dance & MorrisonDance in Lincoln Park This Weekend

It's all done but the doing of it. Antaeus Dance had its final company rehearsal last night in preparation for this weekend's concert with MorrisonDance. I must admit to dragging a bit this morning, but I am enjoying moving with Shanna, Marissa and Heather nonetheless.

While we gear up for this concert, Shanna and I have also been preparing for the annual Allegheny Summer Dance Intensive. The enrollment is maxed out and we are looking forward to meeting new students and excited to see some familiar faces as well. I have been leading the intensive since 1999, so I have had the opportunity and the pleasure of seeing many students from the start to the finish of their time at Allegheny.

I have a few applications for venues and grants in the hopper, as well as course materials for my classes at Kent State University. It has been a lovely summer and I am looking forward to a year rich in dance. You will find AD's season to the right, as well as KSU concerts that include my work.

See you in the park!
Joan

Photo of Hidden Dialogue by Scott Radke

Final Week of Classes

This is the final week of Antaeus Dance classes. We had anticipated teaching through next week, but preparations for our upcoming performance require us to keep the last week to ourselves.

It has been a great pleasure to both teach and take classes with the company and the community this summer. I have met some lovely movers from Cleveland and beyond, and hope that we can continue to see one another throughout the year.

If you want to be on our mailing list for class information, company announcements, and other goings on, please contact me: joan@antaeusdance.com.

Please see the post below for reflections on our performance in Lincoln Park next weekend!

Photo of Shadowing the Ground by John Seyfried

Antaeus Dance & MorrisonDance Perform in Lincoln Park

Join Tremont's resident dance companies for a night of original dance in Tremont's Lincoln Park August 7th and 8th at 8:30pm (raindate August 9th at 7:30pm)

This free event will feature one of my favorite dances, Hidden Dialogue. This piece is very athletic and incorporates my interest in working from individual gestures and movement idiosyncrasies. It often feels like a puzzle. This is partly because I cannot imagine how I ever made it in the first place...even though, yes, I do know how it was done...it's just that in the looking back I frequently don't know if I could do it again if I had to. And as I perform it, remembering who originated each movement and knowing how it ultimately fits into the piece as a whole, I actually feel the movement pieces falling into place as I do them. It is a very satisfying dance from this performer's perspective; and I certainly hope that is the case for the audience. This dance is also a barometer for me...it was a turning point for me creatively and helps me gauge where I've been/where I'm going. It is also a good test of my general fitness.

Drift In, Drop Out is a similar experience for me. It is a more elegant piece than Hidden Dialogue, though it still gets my heart rate up. One of the dancers has told me, repeatedly, how much she likes the piece. That means more to me than she could possibly know. The dancers are the litmus test for the work. Does it engage them? Does it push them in some way? Does it bring up questions and engage us all in dialogue? These are important questions for any dancework, regardless of its demeanor.

Finally, we will be performing FFA: Fairy Flight Academy by founding member Holly Labbe Cole. This is complete whimsy along the lines of: If at first you don't succeed, try try again. Four fairies who have yet to earn their wings have been at it for so long that they have grown to enormous proportions (i.e., human-sized). They have one more chance to make it...come and see what happens!

Please do visit MorrisonDance for more information about their work. Sarah will reprise work she premiered at Ingenuity Festival, as well as some MD favorites!

This concert begins our 2009-2010 season and I am glad for the chance to have a little fun with things before digging into some new, heady work. We close on Saturday, Sunday if it rains, and then Shanna, Sherri, and I head to PA Sunday night for the annual Allegheny Summer Dance Intensive. This is a two-week program that I have been directing since 1999. It is something I look forward to every year and will be reporting on our activities there.

I hope to see you at the concert!
Joan

FFA: Fairy Flight Academy photo by Brian Meggitt

YES! manifesto

In 1965 Yvonne Rainer published her "NO manifesto," a statement of beliefs via repudiation. It serves as a succinct guide to post-modern dance generally and to Rainer's minimalist aesthetics specifically.

NO manifesto - Yvonne Rainer

No to spectacle.
No to virtuosity.
No to transformations and magic and make-believe.
No to the glamour and transcendency of the star image.
No to the heroic.
No to the anti-heroic.
No to trash imagery.
No to involvement of performer or spectator.
No to style.
No to camp.
No to seduction of spectator by the wiles of the performer.
No to eccentricity.
No to moving or being moved.

I considered writing one myself but soon realized that, in framing everything as a "no," I was really being guided by those things that I wished not to find in myself, in others, and in dance at large. And so I have instead constructed a "YES! manifesto" which speaks directly to what I value and what I am seeking.

YES! manifesto - Joan Meggitt

Yes to questions.
Yes to risk.
Yes to individuality.
Yes to community.
Yes to transcendence.
Yes to moving moment-by-moment.
Yes to mistakes.
Yes to raw existence, unglorified yet glorious.
Yes to pedestrianism and technique.
Yes to cultivating the curiosity and imagination of the audience.
Yes to expecting the audience to think for themselves.
Yes to making room for them to do so.
Yes to being human.

MOLT photo of Amy by Brad Petot

Wading Through...

My apologies for not posting anything recently. Since the conclusion of MOLT, I have been wrapping up the spring semester at Kent State University, preparing to teach a summer course there, and looking ahead to Antaeus Dance's 2009-2010 season. It is our ninth season as a company. Even though the tenth anniversary is the standard hallmark, I prefer odd numbers to even and I am excited about how the ninth is shaping up so far. Look for news on the season on the website in June, and before that on this blog.

As promised, I will also offer some reflections on MOLT.

Until then,

Joan

MOLT photo by Brad Petot: Jenita looking for More Light

MOLT Wrap Up

Antaeus Dance gave its final performance of MOLT yesterday in CPT's Gordon Square Theatre. I had the opportunity to speak with many audience members before, during, and after the performances; and I am grateful for the insights, questions and suggestions that I received.

This is an initial post inviting further comments on the work. I encourage you to submit your responses, questions, images, suggestions, and so forth. What was you experience? I am very much interested in having a dialogue about the project, whether focusing on it as a whole or looking at individual aspects that present themselves.

I will expand upon this post in the coming days , offering up my own experience as a viewer (something I do not get to do very often with the Company). I look forward to hearing from you.

Joan

MOLT photo by Brad Petot: Marissa's Phragmentation

MOLT - Around Noon

Listen to Dee Perry and me talk about MOLT - premiering this weekend at Cleveland Public Theatre!

http://www.wcpn.org/index.php/WCPN/an/25921

MOLT photo by Bob Christy: Amy watching Jenita & Marissa

MOLT: Around Noon

Tune into 90.3 WCPN ideastream this Thursday, April 30th for Around Noon. Host Dee Perry and I will be exploring MOLT.

Visit the Around Noon home page: http://www.wcpn.org/index.php/wcpn/an/

MOLT photo by Bob Christy

Reflections from a dancer

Dancer Jenita McGowan reflects on MOLTing in Lustfelt 4 My Rustbelt: A bundle I can no longer carry.

MOLT photo by Brad Petot: Jenita, a silent witness

Spread Thin, Focusing In

I just set a new mini-work on Verb Ballets this past Thursday. I found the dancers to be perfectly lovely and extremely capable. We were given five hours together, which was a challenge; but it also turned out to be a delight given that my other premiere has been so long in the making. The dancers were focused, professional, willing to try anything, and possessed, most importantly, a decent sense of humor. I look forward to seeing them in performance April 16 - 19 in CPT's Dance Works 09. They will premiere works-in-progress by nine local and quite varied choreographers.

Also, this weekend I performed with Travesty Dance Group with TDG/Cleveland Director Kim Karpanty. She and TDG/Houston Director Karen Stokes presented work at the Weathervane Playhouse in Akron. It was a well-balanced concert that clearly showed the distinctive voices of each choreographer, as well as the talents of their respective performers, and afforded me the opportunity to perform with Kim in our duet "Straight Forward & Slightly Off Kilter."

Rehearsals have resumed for MOLT. Greg D'Alessio's score is nearing completion; and James Longs is finishing the building and detailing of the set. For my part, the costumes are well underway...I have pieces cooking on the stove as I write this. A section of MOLT was shown as part of the the Cleveland State University Spring Dance Concert this past week. I am extremely grateful to Lynn Deering and the CSU Dance Program for the opportunity to present the work.

I have mentioned the length of this process on numerous occasions. Now that I find myself near the end of it I want more time, of course. As always, I feel that I can finally see the piece and I fear that I have not fully investigated all of the possibilities. The dancers are keeping me honest with their questions and requests for more clarity of intention on my part. I appreciate the fact that I they are so adept at making choices in the moment and willing to challenge me to look more closely at what we are doing and why and how and so on and so forth.

MOLT photo by Larry Coleman: Jenita McGowan in lakeside nest by Brian Meggitt

CSU Spring Dance Concert: April 9th

Antaeus Dance will be performing an excerpt from MOLT in the CSU Spring Dance Concert.

Cleveland State University Dance presents "A Spring Dance Concert ‘09," a repertory concert featuring the CSU Dance Company, faculty and alumni and guests from Antaeus Dance and the Lake Erie College Dance Company performing both contemporary and traditional dance works. Of special note are works staged by guest artists Dianne McIntyre, Cha Lee Chan, and Antaeus Dance Company’s premiere of an excerpt from “MOLT”, a new work with music by CSU’s Greg D’Alessio.

Made possible with the support of the CSU College of Education and Human Services, CSU General Fee Committee and the Ohio Arts Council, the performance will be held on Thursday, April 9 at 7:30 PM in Drinko Recital Hall in the Music and Communication Building at 2100 Euclid Avenue.

Tickets are $5.00 general seating and are available at the door only.

MOLT photo by Scott Radke: Shanna Sheline

Music for MOLTing!

The first installment of the score is in my hands! I am excited to be listening to Section 1 of MOLT, composed by Greg D'Alessio.

MOLT photo by Scott Radke

Ferment

"An empty mirror and your worst destructive habits, when they are held up to each other,

that's when the real making begins.

That's what art and crafting are."

from Childhood Friends by Rumi

This quote speaks to my finally being able to see the piece now that it is finished. There is still much work to be done, but having the complete structure and content forces me to confront, if you will, the dance as it is and as it should be. Those two are by no means the same thing. I can no longer avoid those places which have stymied me, those parts which I have been avoiding, or those questions which the dancers have been asking for far too long now. I must get down to truly crafting what we have in place. While much of that happens along the way, there is more to be had. Some things will go, more will be added.

I will also be making the costumes and addressing how those will be integrated into the performance. It would be easy, relatively speaking, if the dancers were simply to wear them; but that will not be the case. A costume that serves multiple purposes within any given dance is an additional challenge. Not that designing and building a successful costume is a simple task. It is an art in and of itself and best left to those much more capable and imaginative than myself. As it is that responsibility falls to me.

In the month before our next MOLTing, I will be going over our most recent rehearsals on video, and going back through my entire collection of notes, drawings, collected images and writings, and so forth...looking for things I may have forgotten and trying to find more clarity. Our first rehearsal back we will begin working with Greg D'Alessio's new score. I will have that a bit in advance of the dancers and endeavoring to learn it inside and out so that I can guide them through the meeting of music and movement. Finally, I will be making choices about subtitles from a large list that I have been compiling since the beginning of the process.

Even as I welcome this small respite, I look forward to MOLTing again.
Joan

MOLT photo by Larry Coleman: Jenita McGowan in lakeside nest by Brian Meggitt

Buckle up!

Today is our last rehearsal. Today we will finish the dance. March will be spent preparing for other projects; and in April we return to MOLT and prepare for its premiere. The dance is finally starting to make sense to me and I have so many ideas that I think, perhaps, there are several additional dances in the making. Heartfelt thanks go to Amy Notley for helping to bring everything in to focus!

Even though we have had an extremely gracious period of time with which to create MOLT, I am still finding the last bits and pieces of choreography difficult to complete. One of two things tends to happen for me at this point in the process: 1) I show a clear-sightedness and focus that carries me resolutely to the conclusion; or 2) I experience a combination of extreme nervousness and excitement that prevents me from thinking clearly (even though everything that I need is directly in front of me), language and the ability to move with any coherence escapes me, and the dancers buckle up for the ride. My hope, of course, if for the former; but I have been living with the nervous energy of the latter for the better part of a week now. Best to buckle up ladies!

Much of the clear-sightedness of which I speak is really the dancers beginning to make sense of the work, as a whole and in the connections that I see them making between one another. In watching them make choices I am enlightened.

I look forward to this evening's work with great anticipation.

Joan

MOLT photo by Scott Radke: Jenita hugs Shanna

This Just In!

Artist James Longs delivered the first installation of the MOLT set: a big chair. It measures about nine feet in height and has enough room on the seat for the entire cast. This evening the dancers explored the possibilities!

Pictured: Marissa in the big chair

Solos Feature: Shanna Sheline

Read Donald Rosenberg's article in today's Plain Dealer Arts about Shanna Sheline, a founding member of Antaeus Dance who will be performing in the Company's April 30 - May 3 premiere of MOLT at Cleveland Public Theatre / Dance Works 09.

See video by Lonnie Timmons III of Shanna Sheline, featuring new music by Greg D'Alessio.

MOLT photo by Bob Christy: Shanna

Shanna Sheline

Solos Feature in The Plain Dealer

Read about Shanna Sheline, a founding member of Antaeus Dance, in The Plain Dealer on Sunday, February 1, 2009. Arts Critic Donald Rosenberg's feature article about Shanna and her life in dance will be in this Sunday's Arts section. There will also be a link to video of Shanna performing excerpts from MOLT, the Company's upcoming premiere.

Check back here on Sunday morning for links both the article and the video.
Joan

Shanna Sheline photo by Marty Horvath

MOLT: Beginnings

It takes as long as it takes. - Jan Hyatt

MOLT began in October of 2007. Normally, I have a modest window of time within which to create work prior to its premiere: in most cases about three months. In this case, that window was thrown wide, so much so that it shattered completely. My initial thought was, "This is great! What a luxury to have TIME!" More on that later...

We began with improvisation; some days I would participate, but most of the time I directed. I have truly enjoyed witnessing this group improvise...even after watching them again and again, both in rehearsal and later on video, to prise from the hours of movement the kernels which we later developed into entire sections. Much of what the dancers did was extracted intact; still more has been developed and taken us in new directions.

During those initial months I was astonished, frustrated (usually because I was watching and not doing), amused, pleased, and otherwise moved to respond. And so the dance grew.

NOTE: The process began with Jenita McGowan, Carla Monzo, Sherri Mills, Amy Notley, and Shanna Sheline.

The process continues with Amy Compton-Schulz, Marissa Glorioso, Jenita, Sherri, and Shanna.

More on that later.
Joan

MOLT photo by Scott Radke: Amy & Carla

Critical Mass

"Don't hand me a glass of wine.
Pour it in my mouth.
I've lost the way to my mouth.

The wine we really drink is our own blood.
Our bodies ferment in these barrels.
We give everything for a glass of this.
We give our minds for a sip."

from A Children's Game by Rumi

As I write this as I am considering this evening's MOLT rehearsal. This work has developed over an extensive period of time and is beginning to gain momentum. We are now at a place where things are happening quickly, or so it seems to me. This is a result of many months of slow going, during which time the dancers have been ever-patient, always ready to work, and tremendously invested. The creation of any [dance]work is a leap of faith. I can identify, with relative certainty, the place from which I am leaping; but I do not always know where I am going. In some cases, as with MOLT, I think I know where I am headed...

I love to drive without knowing exactly how I am going to get to my final destination. When I am on my own, dead reckoning is my favorite form of navigation.

I forget about this propensity of mine when not in the car. It is only when I get to this place of critical mass that I remember that I like to ramble (coincidentally the informal name of one section of the dance) along the way and that, often, the destination changes in the process.

I am starting to feel the ferment and I am racing ahead of myself, as I always do at the end. While my intentions have remained relatively solid, I am delighted to see that there is room for MORE!

MOLT will premiere at Cleveland Public Theatre April 30 - May 3, 2009 as part of DanceWorks09.

Look for further information about MOLT in my next post.
Joan

MOLT photo by Scott Radke

Welcome: What to Expect

"There is no shortcut about learning dancing. You just have to get in there, and step by step, see how the thing feels..." -Erick Hawkins

I recall my impatience as a fledgling student of dance, my wanting to know more, to be more, MORE NOW. My impatience has been tempered over time, not so much by its waning as by the emergent reasons and desires behind it.

This blog will offer musings on my current work with Antaeus Dance, and will undoubtedly reference past works as well. Because none of us exist in a vacuum, I may also reference my life as (in no particular order) an educator, wife, citizen, etc.

I will post news about Antaeus Dance, reflect on the creative process, invite questions and comments, and generally provide insights into how and why we do what we do as a company.

Welcome! and please visit again soon.
Joan Meggitt
Artistic/Executive Director