The Art of Negotiation

I find myself talking about 'negotiation' a lot in rehearsals.

"The structure you build with the boxes is not as important as how your bodies work together to negotiate the space with the boxes"

20 years ago I began my love affair with dance through Contact Improvisation. CI is a dance of communication and negotiation. It requires you to 'listen'. It requires you to 'cooperate'. I've had the dancers training every day in CI because my work is heavily influenced by my own practice of the form. Contact Dance has given my dance 'style' a sensuousness, a full bodied, relaxed quality even when the movement is fast or dynamic. Dancers who work with me are often surprised by the technical skill that is required to move in this way.

While practicing CI, while dancing, I'm constantly asking myself the question "what is happening right now?" and constantly asking my partner "Do you want to do this?" It all happens in a split second and without words. The result of this negotiation is quite often very satisfying from the inside, and sometimes surprising from the outside.

I try to bring the same philosophy into my dance creation. My choreography is often a negotiation between my own desires as a mover and those of the dancers. I create material and they learn it. I negotiate the qualities I want but sometimes the dancers know better than me. I have them improvise and something they've created becomes the basis for a scene. I negotiate their material into my concept.

I love watching Cory being moved around by the ladies. They negotiate with each other to make it happen and he negotiates with them to either allow it or not. Sly Cory.

I love watching the ladies don their fur coats, high heels, and white purses and negotiate the narrow corridor I've set up for them. Even knowing that Susanne will cross the curtain line.

I love watching Elise wall herself up in a tower of boxes, negotiating the design so that later she can escape it leaving the structure partially standing.

I love watching Sara dance with the purse on her head. I put it on myself to see what it's like. It's claustrophobic. I have to negotiate whether the comfort of the dancer is more important than the image.

I love watching Jacinte and Cory work together to move boxes. As they negotiate the task, I see all the tenderness and drama of their real relationship unfolding in the simple scene making it all the more human.

I'm starting week three with SINS, and I know that I've already got more material than I'll need. They wanted a 30 minute dance, but I can't stop at 30 minutes. Maybe I'll stop at 40. It's something we'll have to negotiate.

Daelik