I’m planning rehearsal for tomorrow, and I trying to decide whether to spend the entire time running and tweaking or to start more new material. Something about directing a rehearsal and not dancing in my work is that I don’t have a gauge for fatigue and over-rehearsing specific sections. I’ve been a dancer in works that have felt under-rehearsed, severely over-rehearsed, and some spot on. A lot of it has to do with the timing. There has to be a peak, and it is ideally the performance. But what happens when there are multiple performances? It is the dancer’s job to make the work new each time, any professional dancer in a touring company will explain that. But knowing what it’s like to be the dancer, and not being far from it at all, I want to be careful, persistent, and remember how beneficial “mental” rehearsal is for more cerebral dancers. If I, as a dancer, had to choose one extreme, I would probably choose being over-rehearsed. As a director, I would rather them be *slighly* under-rehearsed because there’s a spark that happens when the dancers aren’t quite comfortable with the material. There’s a little more magic in my opinion. I have to let go of the ego to see the choreography performed as I intend it, and surrender to the unmatched mystery of live performance. So have I made a decision?

For a while I was keeping my distance from Satin Stitch–our upcoming dance-for-camera. We filmed it, and I made some major progress on the initial editing (the very, very beginnings). Then something happened…almost like I became afraid of it. But I had a major breakthrough last night, and things have opened up and we’re pressing on. I really think you’ll like it…come out to Spacetaker March 12 to see its premiere. A little wine, a little Frame, a little thing I like to call “Satin Stitch.”