Cindy Sherman

Some days you just need to throw the plan out the window because you have a better idea. That happens a lot with this piece. I often change my plan just before rehearsal, or come up with new things to try on the way there. This is unusual, for me, and it feels good to be open to this way of working. Thus far the results have been great every time I change it up.

Before this rehearsal I was looking at my photography books, thinking about working on translating photographic exposure into some kind of movement constraints, and was feeling stuck. I saw my book of Cindy Sherman’s untitled film stills, and as I thumbed through it realized she often captures the moods I’m going for in this work.

Initially I was very interested in (and still am, for that matter) working along the lines of Pina Bausch – asking questions that allow the performers to access personal memories or experiences and translate them into performance via improvisation. It is a very internal to external way of working. I began to wonder if it might work the opposite way – external to internal. For instance, what if we emulated one of Sherman’s film stills as a starting point?

In her Untitled Film Stills, Sherman is the subject and photographer. She is a master of disguise, and each image truly looks as if it is a moment with motion and intention before and after it. It is easy to believe they are stills from a film. In the staging of each still I imagine the combination of the visual aesthetic and the emotional landscape had to come together from a place of universality and iconography. I would be surprised if personal moments came into play in the initial stages of imagining an image.

I asked the dancers to each select a photograph that resonated with them, and to start by emulating Sherman’s physical pose. From there I asked them to create movement that led up to, followed, or encapsulated this moment. After they worked for a while I asked them to journal, from the perspective of their “character” from the photograph about what was going on. They could include back story or be in the “present” moment of the image. Then, I asked them to return to moving.

Some of the results were really moving and beautiful. Nola’s gave us an idea for a dane in a towel. Molly’s exposure of her stomach could be an interesting moment to explore, and Bella’s reach for help that isn’t coming could be a basis for a solo.

We ended by playing with how these snapshot moments could be overlaid, or used as transitions.