Erin Malley

“An original”

Last night I was honored by being inducted into Western Michigan University’s Dept. of Dance Alumni Academy. What a treat to see David & Whitney again! And meet Carolyn at long last, along with their new crop of talented dancers (who I didn’t get to chat with enough..)

My favorite part of the evening (and the most germane to this blog post) were the faculty’s reflections on my career. The timing couldn’t have been better. With so many life changes recently (and with that the pursuant reflective period), I discovered that that was the thing I needed most: to hear my trajectory through others’ perspectives. 

We all know that we use one another as mirrors at various intervals, to see ourselves more clearly. Here was my perfect mirror: a group of people who have watched me over the last 12 to 17 years - seen many a crazy experiment, sublime moment, stubborn refusal to do what I’m told (don’t worry, it continues to this day) - et cetera - and are able to synthesize it for me into these words: “Erin is a true original.”

I’ll admit, being this way has never once helped me become one of the “cool kids” in dance. Erin creating work that is trendy will never happen. Placed in a room where everyone is doing the same something, I’ll find a way to do the other something. And I’m not doing it just for the sake of spite, or of change. Usually, all I’m doing is following that thing, that idea that is uniquely mine. That “Rara Avis” business is real.

Stills from “Steadfast Body, Marshmallow Heart.” We open Friday at ODC!

A sneak peek of Dolly’s dance class adventures in my upcoming film, Steadfast Body, Marshmallow Heart. 

Reflections of ‘Quake’ - Photo taken by Jenni Bregman during Pilot 61 performances.

Production stills from the upcoming Steadfast Body, Marshmallow Heart. My first dance film premieres at the ODC Theater. Kinetoscope: March 22-23 2013.

Looking back at ‘Quake’

It’s been a month now since the Pilot 61 performances. While the management process was a whirlwind, the creative process was slow, meandering, and instinctual.

For the first couple of weeks of the creative process, I went into the studio and pored over notes from 1.26 milliseconds - the original inspiration for Quake. I played with old phrases, choreographed nearly 3 years ago. New movements came into the mix.

It’s always something of an “event” for me, entering the first rehearsal with dance material - I think maybe I should “impress” dancers with that material, but more often, I need to use first rehearsals to test out vocabulary, both great and crappy, in order to know what the piece is and isn’t.

I entered our first group rehearsal with 1 minute of vocabulary, from which sprung the entire dance. I decided that some parts were “it” and “not it,” and worked simply from there. 

The rule was this: If I liked something, and it felt right, it went in. After a week of rehearsing with Brittany and Daria, I made an uncharacteristic decision: I wouldn’t work on the piece at all when we weren’t rehearsing together. In fact, I didn’t blog about the process, because I wanted it to remain fresh. I didn’t want to overthink a thing.

This decision freed up my mind from the normal obsessing I do about my work - if every move is perfect, how it fits into the arc, blah blah. I went into each rehearsal with fresh eyes, ready to see the whole piece fall apart if need be. I was able to take bigger risks. It also opened my mind up to free daydreaming - which led to the roof idea, which ultimately made the piece what it was.

My dancers trusted me fully and were ready for me to work intuitively with them. Choices came easy because they happened one at a time, with me fully present and focused. In the creation of Quake, my clear directive voice emerged. Through this process, I was reminded that my instincts are good. It’s time to let go of “control.” 

from Quake

ODC Pilot, December 15 & 16 2012

Photo by Kate McKinley

Pictured: Brittany Delany, Daria Kaufman, Erin Malley

myampgoesto11:

Hitoshi Kuriyama

Yes. I could easily imagine a light design like this for the scientists in ‘Troika Above the Well.’

laughingsquid:

Yellow Scream, Artist Makes an Absurd Tutorial on Screaming & Painting

Or perhaps I should take up screaming painting in the next phase of my performance art career?

Photo collage by Jenni Bregman. 

Dancers: Erin Malley & Daria Kaufman

Choreography: Erin Malley

Preview shots of Quake - Pilot 61 - December 15 & 16 2012 - ODC Dance Commons 

From the Physio/Logical gallery show at Million Fishes. Photo by Kate McKinley, documenteress extraordinaire. Pictured (L-R): Daria Kaufman, Melissa Kennedy, Lynn Huang.

Troika

Troika

I’m looking back over my shoulder at you, Troika.

And while I think you’re great and all, we need a little time apart, don’t you think?

First of all, this opportunity was wonderful. Seeing Troika Above the Well in a beautiful theater sparked my imagination for more possibilities; it indelibly influenced the development of the piece.  Huge thanks to Christy + Mark at ODC for helping to make that possible!

As a result of our marathon day at ODC, we received a wealth of constructive feedback.Here are a few of my favorite (or more perplexing) comments and thoughts:

• “Troika’s sister missing was an illusion of Troika’s dream. Troika’s 3 selves was a really strong and fascinating idea”
• “I felt the moments that had no sound at all were jarringly stark.”
• “Hysteria, neurosis; Patriarchal dominance, sterile observation, intrusion. Not being true to oneself; conformity, cultural structures. Psyche (goddess). Innocence (the feline). Healing. Becoming who one truly is.”
• “Dazzle me with complex narrative elements.” (?)
• Should the piece be site specific? “No, [for the viewer, the feeling of] “claustrophobia is important.”
• Was the correlation of elements clear? “No - should it be? Seemed clearly…not clear :)”

Almost everyone thought that ODC was a great space for this piece. This was something of a surprise to me, but I’m interested to pursue this idea further. For the handful of folks who thought it belonged in a white space or a museum, I’m perplexed, but thinking deeply nonetheless.

Currently, there is a great conversation happening in the field about placing dance in museums, but major themes that arise are commodification, preservation, ephemerality and presence. To me, Troika is a very theatrical piece that requires a lot of lighting and atmospheric change - changes that wouldn’t be possible in a gallery space. However, I would be intrigued to see parts of this piece performed in a gallery or museum space. I’m open to offers - it’s always best to try it rather than conceptualize it.

Overall, I’m feeling good about where this piece is in its development. While we have a ways to go, and a few plot holes to fill, I think it’s a very promising work worth more development. 

The plan is to keep letting Troika rest through February, and then bring her back out to play next spring and summer. My goal is to premiere this work in September 2013, and to pay my dancers appropriately for their fine work. Two admirable goals, wouldn’t you say?

npr:

By some counts of human history, the number of humans on Earth may have skidded so sharply that we were down to just 1,000 reproductive adults. And a supervolcano called Toba might have been to blame.

Read the full story here: http://n.pr/PlSBsS

Photo: Robert Krulwich/NPR

Seismic activity shaping our existence once again.