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Event
Pause/Scrub/Play
VAA New Works Series jumps into the fall performing season with veteran Island movement artist/choreographer Karen Nelson. Nelson performed in VAA's New Works during the mid'1990's and after a hiatus returned to dance and Vashon last year. The Blue Heron Art Center interior walls will be pushed back for this performance to allow ample room for dancers.
Pause/Scrub/Play brings artists and media together into one cohesive event. Nelson initiated the collaboration by inviting various artists to participate, introducing movement scores and some content. She will be joined by dancer/choreographers Kris Wheeler and Lila Hurwitz (both of Seattle), visual installation artist Susan Gladstone (Portland), percussionist John Dancey (Vashon) and other guest performers.
According to Nelson, the dance celebrates the experience of embodiment. "Process is the product; this work invites people to step back in the process of being," she adds.
For these dancers, familiar territory is sensory awareness, ease of motion, dynamic expression and perceptual improvisation. They make real-time choreographic choices informed by the performance in progress, other players and objects in the playing space. Dancers partner each other during the improvisation as naturally as wind in the trees. Rising out of and falling into the floor, they enhance and amplify the simple spirals inherent in human movement.
Nelson attended the Naropa Institute in Boulder, lived and danced in Eugene and later moved to Vashon where she participated in dance, improvisation, contact improv and choreography throughout the region.
The set, fondly known as the "scrubbies," is a 30 ft swath and smaller fragments of scrubby material created by Gladstone who deconstructs then knits together plastic fibers. Traditionally destined for cleaning pots and pans, she has transformed scrubbies into objects of beauty.
Musicians will improvise with rhythm, texture, silence and found sound. "While there will be live music with percussionist John Dancey, Nelson says, "We mostly follow the rhythms within us; we don't rely on exterior music." They will also interact with one another and the audience through vocalization.
Collaboration includes developing methods for communication amongst players. Using verbal calls like "pause" and "play" performers shape space. Sudden stillness and movement expose internal workings of dance composition. The spacious, informal atmosphere allows audience members to learn the language as the dance unfolds. In this way, all aspectsthe players, audience and environment collaborate together to create the dance. "Each dancer is a collaborator; we all held a visionit's like cooking a soup."
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LocationBlue Heron Art Center
19704 Vashon Hwy SW
Vashon Island, WA 98070
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 12 |
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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