"10 second movement" photo by Andy Vernon-Jones

Betsy Davis, first piece with LED lights...


Betsy Davis @ The Tank from Tatyana Tenenbaum on Vimeo.

Videos from April 17th Show

Group Improvisation

Untitled from Tatyana Tenenbaum on Vimeo.

Betsy Davis with Victoria Keddie

Untitled from Tatyana Tenenbaum on Vimeo.

April 17th, Reflections

I have to say I was extremely pleased with both the product and process on thursday night. We tried a new structure, which allowed improvisers more freedom to choose when to participate, while still maintaining a linear direction. The group seemed comfortable from the start, creating a welcoming atmosphere for both one another and the audience... Okay, but enough of my glowing comments. This is a place to reflect on what worked as well as what didn't, and I hope fruitful dialogue can be had.

Video will be up soon!

April Participants:

THE RAW
Dancers:Carina Renner, Laurel Snyder, Paul Laurey, Alex Lyle, Ophra Wolf, Jessie Male, Sam Wentz, Tatyana Tenenbaum
Musicians:Doron Sadja, Johnny Butler, Jeff Young, Lorenzo Sanguedolce, Dan Blake, and Adam Caine, and Jay King (live video projection).

THE COOKED
Betsy Davis with Victoria Keddie

March 20th video, Part II!

Untitled from Tatyana Tenenbaum on Vimeo.

Videos from March 20th Show

Here are some videos from the show on thursday... more to come!

PART ONE:Jessie Male, Nicole Pope, Alexander Lyle, Marta Polakova, Tenaya Keller, Maitreya Levanchild, Tatyana Tenenbaum, Adam Caine, Stefanos X, Johnny Butler, Adam Schniet, Josh Sinton and Dan Blake


The Raw and the Cooked 3/20 PART I from Tatyana Tenenbaum on Vimeo.

TRIO: Kayoko Nakajima, Elise Knudson and Mark Messer


Trio with Kayoko, Mark and Elise from Tatyana Tenenbaum on Vimeo.

Thoughts for March to get the ball rolling...

I've been thinking about how to create larger dynamic range in texture. I think "three" is a good number for this, musically and dancer-wise. With three people there is the option for solo, duet and trio, as well as two-against-one. I think it may be fruitful to talk strategy within disciplines about this when the groups meet. While there are overarching structures that can tie the group together, it could be helpful to acknowledge specific concerns pertaining to musicians and dancers alone. Here are some things that I noticed, which might be interesting to consider:

-not a lot of eye contact between dancers; internal focus
-internal movement (does this make sense?)
-sensitivity to sound as visceral component of movement
-"agreement" with sound... what would disagreement or counterpoint look like?
-movement starts small at the beginning of the improvisation, and develops conventional arc, or stays texturally flat; how to develop?
-endings unclear; how to end? is it okay for one person to take the initiative? does it need to be a group consensus? how is the end determined?

-Tatyana