A movement dialogue by: Jenna Balfe
In collaboration with: Natasha Lopez DeVictoria, Mauricio Abascal, Cassie Mills, Olivia Ramos Herrera, Dylan Romer, Daliahah Danielle Koller, Ganesha Michael Shapiro
Music by: Marcel McVay
Occurred on: June 30, 2013 at 5:30pm
Where: The Miami Performance Festival at The Miami Beach Botanical Gardens- 2000 Convention Center Dr Miami Beach, FL 33139
Press: Miami Art Zine, Editors Picks, http://www.miamiartzine.com/latest-features/editors-picks/1569-dancer-jenna-balfe-at-the-miami-beach-botanical-garden
Relationships between people are containers of the ephemeral richness of a moment. This celebration of life is passing. It builds. It develops it's own language and way of being in the world. A relationship is a practice of getting to know the world and yourself through developing a way of communicating with what seems to be "other".
Dance Non-Fiction is focused on a body-centered language development between COMPANY members. As the piece develops, cross-pollination between the movers builds a nonverbal narrative. The emphasis is to use dance/movement in a practical manner, one that supports human community and expression beyond words. By moving beyond words the discovery of a new kind of truth between the movers will beexpressed.
The language of Dance Non-Fiction is generated through the combination of practiced movement forms such as contact improvisation, modern dance, yoga and capoeiraas with therapeutic forms such as Ritual Dance, Authentic Movement and Meditation. The movers/participants are go deep into an interior space while remaining objective and non-emotional, favoring no one form but instead moving and mutating between all forms. Created is a vulnerable space, where real feeling, desires and actions are played out. It is not a "safe space" necessarily but more a hyper-real one.
Energy is essential to this work. It takes precedence over the movement itself. Conscious attention to energy guides Dance-Non-Fiction. This is further achieved in two unique ways. First, Dance-Non-Fiction calls for the audience to be witness to the relationships occurring before them. The audience is asked to put all of their opinions and criticisms to the forefront, essentially becoming a non-passive observer. Through this process of directing their energy at the movers/participants, the movers/participants use their attention to affect the piece in real time. Secondly, there is also is a non-real-time/ in-person element to the piece as well. Since some of the movers/participants in the piece live far their participation happens digitally (ie video chat, speaker phone). The movers/ participants in the piece become mediums between the energy that surrounds us all, the audience and their own personal stories.
See a video clip- click here
Dance Non-Fiction focuses on energy process and is never “finished.” The aim is to deepen and spread the message of a focused physical communication. It is valid and it feels good.