Natural composition

Rain is a vast composition to comprehend. Several million individual droplets, yet identical in size, fall at random times to create individual ripples, yet the sound is often a monotone shhhhh. (If you can think of a better word to describe this than shhhhh let me know).

At this point I am trying to avoid getting lost in my ideas as I often do, with every project. Luckily, my experience improvising in the stream today proved to me that the best approaches and answers come out of a relaxed body and mind. I finally turned off my mind today. Not completely, but more than I have been able in the time as far back as I can remember. The solitude of painting my old bed room over winter break came close, but in a confined, quiet space lacking social interaction, it seems the mind can never be totally quiet. When the vents are not opened to a new space, what is inside can not dissipate. Moving at the stream opened my mind to a new approach to my project.

My initial goal was to choreograph phrases based on water and put video footage of these phrases into Isadora. (They would be filmed at various site of water). The footage in Isadora will be edited via a natural editor. An example includes (assuming this is possible technology-wise) a humidity censor connected to Isadora. Or, a weight or device measuring the increase of weight or volume of water in a rain barrel over time.

The first step is the movement. At the SEEDS festival I will focus on the rise of the stream as it collects rain water through the week. Tomorrow I hope to write, or collaborate with someone, to write a score from which someone can improvise movement in the stream, based on the water level. The next step is documentation of the technology, and how it will work, can take place. And, I may write more or take the score to other water sites to collect more footage in the Baltimore area, to which I will apply my method of composing a video product.

My qualm with the idea so far is message to audience. What I am really saying, and who will benefit from seeing this work? How can change it to include audience participation or bring it to unlikely audiences? Can I communicate a message about sustainable water practices without screaming the stereotypical 'save the environment' cry? One idea is to have people collect rain water, and bring it to a place to put into a container, and watch how the dance changes as more water is collected. As more water is collected and added to the container, the video will progress differently through qualities of interactions with water, from poor and minimal to rich and nourished. But, collecting rain water is a pretty foreign concept to a lot of people.

Organically this project has taken form, and I am so grateful to be here at Earthdance, where conversations and sharing of resources has fueled my ideas and I have witnessed other research growing and taking shape.

I'm off to my tent to fall asleep to sounds of insects and breaking twigs. This post ends with a cup of mint tea in hand, and video of a piece about the water cycle by my new friend Kiori.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcRpi1Gm9ms