Deeming Dreaming 30 Years!
30 Days 30 posts of Archival Footage
I have taken to task to re-vamp my deemingdreaming.com website. Looking at what is presented currently I am all too aware that it doesn’t reflect back what I want it to at this time….
Over the past 30 years of my professional career (yes! 30! I will be 50 in July, one half decade…eeeek...) has swung in many directions, wherein I have embraced a variety of different experiences and art forms in many places. When (inevitably) someone asks ‘what is it that you DO’?, I stumble about trying to come up with a simple answer which (inevitably) makes me seem rather flaky, or lacking in experience or accomplishment.
This could not be further from the truth.
It’s just that my life, my work, my vocation, my life as an ARTISTE…. whatever you want to call it has evolved rather then been driven down a specific trajectory. *I* myself am driven, and passionate about the possibility of making something and whether that comes through a formal commission or my own inclination does not matter. I want to make stuff that connects to people. That much is true. And it’s outside. Mostly. Outside formal institutions. Mostly.
If you do not know me well than that statement alone will relegate me to the flaky category. I don’t blame you. Sometimes I have to remind myself of my roots. What is it my Mom always said, ‘remember who you are and where you came from’.
So trolling through my hard drives for images for my (soon to be new and improved) website I was reminded of the copious amounts of projects I have undertaken. Honestly! I had forgotten half!
To that end whilst I streamline my web presence I have decided to post one piece from my archive for the next 30 days to mark my 30 years of professional work. Hopefully by then I will have reached some sort of semblance in my web presence as I try and figure out the best way to (stratify? organise? celebrate?) works ranging from the mad costumed interventions/happenings many are aware of, to my time as feature film producer walking the red carpet at Cannes, to avante garde performance in international settings, to producing work for nursery school children and everything in between.
I will post onto my instagram, twitter and facebook pages with the hashtag #DeemingDreaming30years
Today I give you Dance 43 of 84 dances I did in my kitchen in 2014. I called the series Dance.Time.Her as I was coming to terms with the reality of being a solo mother and the most valuable resource I had (have) time. I have referred to this in earlier posts looking at time economics as studied by economists such as Marilyn Waring.
For short I call this my 'Kitchen Dance Series' (I was so ahead of the lockdown curve ha ha)
The dances lasted from June - November 2014 - I set myself the task of dancing 30 minutes for 85 evenings in my kitchen streaming it live for viewing audience globally in addition to editing down into (85) short films. I could see where audiences were coming from, and it was extraordinary to note people viewing from remote locations in Mongolia (!) as well as more familiar settings like my hometown of Philadelphia. I like to think they were sitting together somehow. That was cool.
As a single mother I was attempting to reclaim a ‘room of my own’ as this was the only time I had to myself . Most nights I would set the timer at 10pm and proceed to dance for a cool 30 minutes. This said even within this context I frequently would have to abandon the dance to tend to my 18 month old son who would call out in need. Surrounded by the detritus of motherhood, toddlerhood- baby bottles, laundry, toys I was never truly alone - I came to think about that idea of where or when does a prison become a sanctuary? I am still thinking about that.
The work was improvised, influenced by music suggested by viewers, often never heard before and my choreographic language, use of the space and sense of self as woman and dancer evolved in the 85 dances. Unfortunately I had to discontinue my original goal of 180 dances as my son’s need’s became greater and I (as a solo parent) could not even manage the 30 minutes per day. This brings a political import to the films wherein we are called to question ideas of access and expression of culture/dance within an environment that is disabled (in this case being a single parent with no support).
Enjoy!
#DeemingDreaming30years
#DeemingDreaming
#DanceTimeHer