> Choreography Projects

Recent Choreography Projects include:

December, 2002

David Rousseve steered us through a very beneficial quarter of advanced choreography projects. We paid lots of attention to structure -- how our choreographic pieces were shaped and built. Specifically for my work, David encopuraged me to continue exploring the concept of "weaving" text and movement and choreography in ways more seamless and organic. I concentrated on reworking The Ribbon Dance (a piece I had attempted a few times over the past few years) as a way to incorporate this weaving motif into my work -- a growing sense of how the overlapping of voices, shapes, movement and use of props can create a visceral thematic landscape. The piece itself was partly based on research I had been doing on the cross-cultural folk tradition of young women dancing with ribbons (the maypole dances, etc.) as a public celebration of their maidenhood and their passage into womanhood. It involved an ensemble of women, numerous red and white ribbons (four yards in length), and the intricate tangling and untangling of the ribbons, creating large and complicated shapes and forms -- the woman starting out as individuals, coming together as one, and seamlessly untangling back to the individual. It was quite a feat. I also added the spoken word text of one performer, Amy, as an attempt to mix words that refected on identity and gender, to hopefully place the dance in a more substantial context (the gender construction of women; and an exploration of the traditional and contemporary feminist community).

A WAC 211D
2nd Year MFA Final Showing

The Ribbon Dance

Direction and Choreography by: Kevin Kane
Text: Amy Kusolpaisit

Performed By:
Tiffany Moore, Tiana N. Liufau, Jackie Lopez, Chase Landau, Diane Palaganas,
Jenay Anolin, Shaggy Bajrami, Vanessa KonnefKlatt, Sarri Sanchez, Jennarose Kerr, Misuda Cohen, Gabby Angeles, Amy Kusolpaisit, Cynthia Castillo, Stella Adelman, Hikari Nishida

Also Featuring Works By:
Kim Vetter, Sandra Chatterjee, Tamrahenna, Peter Carpenter

May, 2002

Angelia Leung led this quarter's class, which was taught in conjunction with David Gere's Body Seminar. A heavy and exciting dose of theory (from Foucalt to Freud and beyond) informed the choreographic work. In the end, I tried to create a flowing exploration of gender -- how we learn how to be man or woman, how to enact these roles, how to overcome the limitations that gender roles often impose. I worked with an even larger cast this time (mostly my former TW students, but also a few more WAC kids joining the ensemble this time around), and the pieces were created in a workshop environment. The dancers were asked to write about their feelings and thoughts regarding gender, sexuality, and relationships. Later, these reflections were adapted and included in the final piece. In addition to text, including spoken word, our cast utilized martial arts, javanese-inspired movement, and danced a large group salsa number. Certain props became important to us in this piece as well: bed sheets became things we hide under and behind, hiding our secrets, as well as things that protect and comfort; shoes became identity, who we are-- different from all others.

A WAC 211C
1st Year MFA Final Showing

Don’t I Know You, Man…
a gender exploration in dance, movement and text
Directed by: Kevin Kane
Choreography and Text by: Kevin Kane and Full Company

Performed By:
Maria Celis, Helen Setyan, Jackie Lopez, Jocelyn Lopez, Diane Palaganas,
Cesar Garfiaz, Danny Galeon, John Spears, Evelin Manriquez, Diani Smith, Anthony Suncin, Michael Domantay, Jeffred Armas, Timmy Boonyarit, Amy Hattemer, Anna Lynn Terry,
Yeni Osorio, Cynthia Castillo, Guillermo Gamero, Alexie Agdeppa, German Osorio, Tittus Mendez, Lauren Ziminsky, Meredith Flores, LJ Nicolas, Joeffrey Sunga

Featuring the music of:
Radiohead, Thomas Newman, Tito Puente, Madonna, Pink Martini,
Cornershop, Buffalo Girls, Thomas Otten

Monday, June 3
4PM
11000 Kinross Building, Room 126
Limited seating

Directions into Westwood Village:
From 405 Freeway, Wilshire Exit Left (North) on Gayley,
Left Turn on Kinross
WAC Building on the left
(Street Parking, Underground or Aboveground Parking Structures-
within walking distance)

Also featuring works by:
Tamra-Henna & Peter Carpenter

March, 2002

Cheng-Chieh Yu taught this quarter's Advanced Choreography section, and her assignments stressed mindful use of space, as well as concentration on movement vocabulary and our inspirations for moving. For my final showing I wanted to use hip hop style music and movement, and work with a larger group of young dancers. I was very interested in making a statement about L.A. youth culture, boundaries and space: where they dance, how they dance, who they dance for, and how it is accepted or not. Ballet barres, constantly being reconfigured, were utilized as signifiers of confinement and oppression. Negotiating the barres -- under, over, and around them -- symbolizing freedom and defiance. The play between confinement and freedom repeated throughout -- serviced by other dancers symbolizing authority and security. The hip hop movement was interrupted by a section of flowing, contact-inspired jamming. In this section, I hoped to show movement that felt as close to abandon as possible. In the end, I created a character -- a little girl observing and following the action, as a reminder of who exactly it is that might one day benefit from the removal of restrictive social and class barricades -- the next generation. Our showing was in the new Kinross space.

WAC 211B
Final Winter Showing
Features

Barricade
Choreographed by: Kevin Kane

Danced by: Mihran Kirakosian, Evelin Manriquez, Diane Palaganas, Jackie Lopez, Danny Galeon, Michael Hummer, Ellis Tenza, Corey Alexander, Helen Setyan, Maria Celis, Sarri Sanchez, Arnold Hilvano, Allen Gozun, Richard Macalma with Stephanie Manriquez

Wednesday, March 6
5PM
11000 Kinross Building, Room 126
Limited seating

Also Featuring Works By:
Marianne Kim, Sandra Chatterjee, Tamrahenna, Peter Carpenter

December 6, 2001

Several TW students participated in my final Advanced Choreography project, presented in Kauffman Hall for a small audience of faculty, friends and other WAC students. The dance was developed by me, with the guidance of my teacher Vic Marks, this past quarter- first as a solo (for me- yikes!) and ending up as piece for six dancers and a rapper/actor. With the piece I tried to utilize some of what I have learned thus far this quarter in my dance classes and in my choreography class. At the same time, I wanted to continue using the choreography style and aesthetic sensibilities that I have been developing in the last few years with my Theatre Workshop group. Specifically, this included lifts and air work inspired by my recent studies in Contact Improvisation, more specific and meaningul movement sequences, mixed with my already strong concepts of community and human potential. In the end, I felt pretty satisfied, and very happy to work with dancers again. I intend to continue working on the piece and eventually I see it as part of a much larger theatrical/ dance event. The dancers included two WAC undergrads: Sarry Sanchez and Kathleen Mangan, WAC grad student: Hyun Jung Kim, and former TW students: Omar Davalos, Cesar Garfiaz and Diane Palaganas. The actor/ rapper was TW alum, Tommy De La Cruz. I also danced, but I see the piece to be a "younger" expression, and I would not cast myself in the piece in the future (too damn old). Oh yeah, the dance is still untitled.

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