Yesterday we rehearsed at the Contemporary Arts Museum (CAMH).  I brought the canvases, new scores-again!, graphite, tape, and the music.  I must say, Kristen and Alex, you two are amazing.  At each prior rehearsal I’ve come with a revised score.  This new score has more than minor changes.  We’re talking major changes.  They’ve embraced them and contributed thoughtfully and significantly.  I do feel the piece is becoming more cohesive, and has a single voice.  I’ve tossed out a lot of what we’ve been working.  The piece in my mind was getting a bit unruly and I was trying to figure out how to synthesize the material and the direction of the piece.  Then I realized the problem was that I was working on two different pieces and forcing them into one.  So a major segment of what we’ve been rehearsing is now shelved for the evening length work to be performed in March.  I feel like I’ve run the piece through a strainer.  I had a bit of separation anxiety when I started to recognize the issue.  Self-editing.  It’s something I’ve been thinking about since talking to a friend (and Frame dancer).  It’s so very hard to do.  It’s also so very important to do.

I’m editing the footage for the screen dance portion of the piece.  I am very excited about it.  And I’m now feeling more confident about its role in the piece as well as the live dance’s role.  I knew that would be the struggle all along.  And it is.  But there’s a clarity the work has gained since chopping out 65% of what we’ve been working on.  Don’t worry dancers, it’s not waste; it is its own piece and will be shaped and crafted come January.