Week #3: Supper Rehearsals "mindfulness in simplicity"

During this week of rehearsals I noticed how efficiently the props are being used throughout the piece. Growing up in the competition world, I was used to seeing an overload of props being used. Most of the time, these props lacked purpose or were extremely cheesy and actually took away from the dancing. In Supper, there is a set of three tables that are built to make multiple foundations. I appreciate the creativity that went into using the tables to simulate a dining table, a truck, a flotation surface, a stage for a duet, a barrier, and a wall. For the ending, more tables are added and multiple islands of tables are created. These transitions that the dancers use to build the different shapes with the tables are quite impressive. There is a great possibility for the props to get on the way of the performance, but the dancers move the props quickly and smoothly and don't let the transitions interrupt the performance. I'm learning from Silvana how to integrate props into a performance with simplicity and grace. 

Speaking of simplicity, Silvana mentioned to her dancers to be mindful during moments of simplicity. She added to this bit of wisdom by instructing her dancers to keeping a quality in the body's moment rather than expressing emotion in the face. This gives the movement a more natural and pedestrian vibe. Even though at times the choreography is far from the everyday-normal movement, like lifts and headstands and crazy jumps, the often dancers return to natural and relatable ways of moving.

Even though I'm usually busy watching for cues to change the track or taking notes, I am constantly learning from assisting Silvana. There is a fight scene in one of the pieces, and originally it looked completely fine to me. However Silvana noticed something was missing. She said tension needed to be building so the fight scene could be the explosion of tension. This is definitely something that seems simple but is necessary for me to learn. 

The dancers are completing full run throughs and I'm so excited to see the final product in 2 and a half weeks!