Artist Statement by Cady Cox

”’Losing the Narrative’ is a piece about our expectations for the linear order of our lives. one event is meant to follow the other and continue on this way in a predictable and assumed order. at least that's what we're told, or what we think. Take a breath, and picture a typical life line drawing, with little markers for events over time. A straight line.

In making this piece I'm working through questions I have about life. Questions like, how do some events feel like they stretch time and some feel like they shrink it? How much time are we allowing for each event? How big does an event or change have to be to open our eyes to the unpredictability of life? And when something throws off our plans, how do we react? How rigid or malleable are we when things don't go according to plan? Do we even want to get back to our life line? Or is it more freeing to just release ourselves from that construct. Maybe if we all stepped off the line, and actually stepped into the present moment, we would be able to move with life instead of against it. Doesn't that sound fun?

This piece was, in part, a collaboration with the dancers. They each delved into their own lives to create movement that is deeply personal to their individual life line. I appreciate their boldness, vulnerability and creativity so much. It really brought the work to a higher place. “

"This time tomorrow, where will we be? ... I feel the world below me looking up at me" -The Kinks

Choreographer Notes for Losing the Narrative

One way we cultivated movement for this piece was through this artistic exercise of drawing your Lifeline:

Draw a lifeline on the top of your page with standard events "birth, childhood, college, etc..." Now below that line, draw the shapes of the events in your life. What did they feel like? Were they sharp or smooth? What would that event look like on paper? Allow your emotions, memories and instincts to take over and express your life through these artistic shapes. lastly, replicate your artistic line but make it a circle, instead of a line.

From there, I asked the dancers to create movements based on their art. Using the emotions and literal shapes in the line to create a phrase to represent their lives and the events that have molded them up to this point. The phrase work was beautiful, unique and personal and I am so grateful to the dancers for experimenting with me on a new way to cultivate choreography!

Losing the Narrative
Choreography & Artistic Direction: Cady Cox
Dancers: Jen Cox, Hallie Hunt, Katie Istvan
Videography and Editing: Chelsea Fine

Images that Inspired the Work:

This image of the Milky Way and its place in the universe inspired some of the sweeping movements within the work.

This image of Earth from Mars was used to help the dancers feel their teeny tinyness.

This image of a comet compared to Los Angeles was used to help feel our vulnerability.

Artist Statement by Hallie Hunt

”I create dance art as a form of activism. I relish encountering big concepts, ideas and questions through dance work.

When the idea is a giant you must create from a place of openness. The yawning chasm of where you could go within the work is limitless. Any wild, whimsical, terrifying or hilarious choice is welcomed into the dance. Any space can hold dance, all bodies can dance in their own unique way and every audience member is a valued component of the dance.

During the creative process I work to build and maintain a supported environment for all participating individuals. Each human has an irreplaceable presence and power that shall be welcomed and uplifted. I believe that creating a collaborative space encourages artists whether 5 years old or 50 years old to honor themselves and create and contribute responsibly.”

Choreographer Notes for STAR STUFF

The catalyst for STAR STUFF was the enormity of space and how humans contend with the immeasurable vastness of where we exist in this swirling whirling supercluster.

When we hear of new discoveries, or old discoveries for that matter we may feel teeny tiny and overwhelmed as we receive this exciting onslaught of information. As we process new knowledge and travel deeper into our personal understanding the overwhelmed feeling can shift into a sense of peacefulness as we recognize our place within the universe and the universe's place within us.

We are not outside this great chasm of the unknown but as much a part of the swirling whirling chaos as anything else. We are star stuff! We quite possibly are unknown to somewhere, someone or something else. I encourage us all to step out into our curiosity and discover something entirely unknown.

This interview clip was used to create movements from Neil Degrasse Tyson’s words and intonations; and it is used as sound in the work.

Excerpts from ‘Jet’ by Tony Hoagland were used to inspire dancer generated movement. Read the full poem.

Read Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Watch the TED TALK with Astrophysicist and TED Fellow Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil

STAR STUFF
Choreography & Film Artistic Direction: Hallie Hunt
Dancers: Cady Cox, Jen Cox, Hallie Hunt, Katie Istvan
Videography & Editing: Chelsea Fine

Artist Statement by Katie Istvan

”Echo calls us to look at our shadow side, the hard moments and the hurt, inviting us to sit with these experiences like a friend would. Letting it all in, dropping our walls of inner-resistance, and becoming curious about our present-moment-experience, something surprising might unfold. It might not be as scary as we thought. No longer the daunting subconscious ghost echoing in our heads, we instead find a quieter sense of being. We learn to exist with a newfound awareness, and begin to find a way to accept all aspects of ourselves.”

"If we could learn to wander in instead of away, what would we find? What would it look like if we stayed put? ”- Sarah Blondin

Choreographer Notes for Echo
Questions asked during the creation process: Can we learn to accept all aspects of our personal human experience? Can we love not just the pleasant and the good, but also the ugly and the difficult?

Listen
Parts of the meditation below was used within the sound score of the piece:

Sarah Blondin | Live Awake Podcast: Exploring the Wilderness of Discomfort

Feel
To help facilitate the exploration of one's own experience: Insight Timer Meditation App

Reflect
What do you see? Katie's Inspiration Board

Echo
Choreography & Artistic Direction: Katie Istvan
Dancers: Alannah Andersen, Cady Cox, Jen Cox, Hallie Hunt, Katie Istvan
Videography & Editing: Chelsea Fine