Reflecting on ECS
The ECS process allowed me to have the tools necessary to bring my vision to fruition in creating my first ever full length work. Within this process, I was fortunate to have support for rehearsal space, costuming, music rights, lighting, and prop design which allowed me to create a theatrical fourteen minute piece inspired by the intertwined life of Michael Jackson and my own. Because this process was two-fold with a class in the fall and the performance in the spring, I was able to take time to work with one of the dancers to incubate movement and bounce ideas before the audition process even happened, which gave me a supported vision and strong choreographic intuition when creating the piece in spring. Having a set four hours of rehearsal a week gave me ample time to create my piece but also allowed for a process centered around community with the dancers, letting them into my story and also allowing us to create together; a process I typically do not follow. I learned so much about time management from this process, but also how to lengthen a story instead of cramming it into a three minute work. I learned the importance of establishing trust within the choreographer but also how to encourage dancers to take risks and perform for something greater than themselves. I felt that the length of the process was crucial in the creation of such a special work to me and allowed me to convey that to my cast and for them to dive head first into choreography or stylization that they were not familiar with. I got the chance to fully create with no barriers, something I have not gotten to truly experience before. After the completion of the work, I felt so much gratitude for the process and thankful to have been able to put on “production” style dance of this nature, even after being told not to come into this course with an idea of a MJ dance or that it should just be a solo, I was able to do it!
During the ECS talkback after the Friday performance, I was asked “what’s next” and truly felt like maybe there could be more with this piece: more dancers, more selection of MJ’s songs, more grandiose props, and more costumes. While I was happy with how the piece was presented at the show, I thought that it was not complete. The story could have been told better through the choreography and music, the staging of the piece could have been better, the logistics of the work could have been smoother, and so I believe this piece could be something of a repertoire. This work deserves more time to simmer and for new ideas to influence the old ones, and so hopefully I’ll be able to set it again. Additionally, the theatrics of this work have inspired me to create more theatrical works, where the costumes, the lighting, and the music are so well-integrated within the piece. My next inspiration is a work detailing the storyline of The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia by Reba McIntyre with moving stage pieces and time-period costumes. However, because I’ll be working as a dancer for the next eight months, this will be something far in the future to create.