Did you see these moments from "(in)visible veins: Rivers Merge"?

There is so much power in what we choose to see and what we choose not to see.

Google "Gaze Theory" and you'll not only quickly receive over 25,700,000 results in less than a second, but you'll also be prompted to specify your search. Options include:
gaze theory in literature
gaze theory in film
gaze theory media studies
feminine gaze theory
male gaze
and a list of scholars who have studied the phenomenon on what we choose to see and how we choose to see it, in really extensive research.
(What I was surprised to see is that "gaze theory and race" was not a top option or "gaze theory and social class" or "gaze theory and the economy"... just a thought for anyone reading who is craving a Ph.D. topic.)

Anyway, Google away, but in a new tab. I'll wait. Or, just click here and see for yourself: Google gaze theory search

My inspiration from horseshoe crabs came first from a personal place of digging into the deep (seemingly belly or core) contraction when a horseshoe crab was over turned or picked up incorrectly (from the tail).

That's a contraction any modern dancer would love.. except it's not really contracting because it doesn't have abdominal muscles as we do. I view the world through the lens of dance!

A year of research led me on many journeys but also into a personal place of admitting to feeling unseen. Gaze theory and its power was first introduced to me in my undergraduate Women's Studies classes and has obviously stayed with me.

The theory resonates with me and this work. For hundreds of years, communities along the Atlantic coast viewed horseshoe crabs as pests because they're ugly. Of course, assumed thinking follows that everything ugly is obviously bad. But nothing can be further from the truth! These little pre-historic creatures have been one of the most beneficial to the development of science and medicine. They remind me that looks are deceiving and that first impressions aren't always correct. How much of "Life" do we miss because we choose to not see something or someone? Or choose to see something and immediately dismiss it/ him/ her?

Ultimately, this piece was one-part concert dance experiment, one-part community building experiment, one-part mindfulness and awareness experiment, one-part gaze theory experiment, and one part socio-ecological experiment. (I use the word "experiment" because no performance is ever really "done". It lives on in the memories and experiences of the participants and is changed by what they bring to, and leave in, the process.)

Below are some of the moments captured and seen through the lens of Chuck Zovoko. Thanks, Chuck!

Kelly introducing the performance, pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

pic 4

pic 5

pic 6

pic 7

pic 8

pic 9

Here's a game!

In the comments below, provide a caption for what you see. I've generically labeled the images "pic 1-9". What do you see? For example, post "Pic 1: beautiful lady with a mission." and so on... Label them all or just a few! I look forward to seeing what you see!

P.S. What you can't see in these pictures are the serendipitous events concurrent with the performance: cars passing by, the music from the bar across the street, the horn of the train and the rhythmic clacking of the wheels on the tracks, the people on their bikes, the river, the children laughing on the swing-set nearby... What would you choose to see?

World Oceans Day

June 8th is World Oceans Day. A day dedicated by the UN to reflecting on and recognizing the importance of the great bodies of water that comprise most of our planet. 

I'm grateful to have spent so much of the past year investigating horseshoe crabs and the giant impact these small creature have on not only the ecosystem, but also human healthcare.

Through movement practices I developed from watching the horseshoe crabs, I developed and translated a vocabulary for working technically, metaphorically and with imagery. I focused heavily on the way the body can give into the space, through the expansion and trust of one's own kinesphere. 

Below is a short video of my inspiration - the horseshoe crab is tossed among the waves, but is protected by its circular shell. As a dancer, I take solstice that my own kinesthetic knowledge will keep me safe and allow me to take deep movement risks - in the overcurves and undercurves of movement pathways, and  in the ever swirling journey of life. 

http://youtu.be/3ctFfK2zDgw

How will you celebrate the oceans today?

6 Bulletpoints on Bach's No. 6 (and a few more)

In my professional work, I'm committed to using music by artists with whom I'm (at the very least) professionally familiar. It's part commitment to my community, part commitment to sharing the work of other artists, and part logistical in getting permission to use someone else's creativity for public consumption and my own inspiration. (More on permission and legal rights of artists in another post, but, yes they are real. Yes, artists have rights to their creative work, and yes, the internet has made that a bit more challenging.)

David Cullen has been playing in my ear for over ten years now, and I'm still star-struck every time I attend one of his performances. He graciously granted me permission to use his interpretation of Bach's Cello Suite No. 6 for (in)visible veins. Thank you, David! Check out more of his work, his performance schedule, and get some of his music: David Cullen's website

Bach's Cello Suite No 6. was particularly interesting to me because:

1. The very first solo I performed professionally was to one of the movements to one of the Cello Suites. (I was too young to know much more than that and too emotionally effected by the experience to think objectively about the music. But I am so grateful for that opportunity and that solo!)

2. Bach is timeless. Horseshoe crabs are timeless. The female experience is timeless. Dance is timeless. It's an organic gathering in time and space!

3. I didn't recognize No. 6 as one of the more familiar of Bach's Suites. (I'm also hesitant to use familiar music because [a]- Audience members bring their own experiences to the work, including their experiences with music and [b] I prefer to use less familiar music to support and share things that might be overlooked, but that still have importance and relevance).

4. Clear craftsmanship in the composition and the performance!

5. David Cullen played the Suite on the guitar - taking something "created" for one instrument (the Cello) and translating it into a new medium. (Yes, it could be argued that the Suites weren't created for one specific instrument, but it's in the title. And I believe in backing up what one says. They're not called the Trumpet Suites or even the String Suites or even Suites made for Stringed Instruments.)

6. David Cullen is taking a classic structure and a classic vocabulary and giving it contemporary value by putting it in his repertory and on his album "One Night, One Guitar". What's contemporary? By definition, anything that's happening now.

As I do, I did more digging. And I discovered even more reasons why Bach's Cello Suite No. 6 is relevant to (in)visible veins. (Please note, this is not a scholarly paper and these are my - perhaps artistic - interpretations of the research that I uncovered).

1. The Cello Suites weren't meant to be public phenomenon. They were structural and foundational and created for that purpose.

2. The Cello Suites No. 6 are the only suites that use the alto and soprano octaves or "voices" as I read. Alto and Soprano are classically female voice parts. The Cello Suites No. 6 are the only ones that include the female voice!

3. The Suites were written to be cyclical. Like the tides, and life cycles, and story-telling. (So relevant to this research!)

4. Seemingly foundational/ elementary/ simple music structures + seemingly foundational/ elementary/ simple movement structures + seemingly foundational/ elementary/ simple ecological structures + seemingly foundational/ elementary/ simple relationship structures = so much complexity!!! = (in)visible veins

5. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. In structure and performance. Boring? Perhaps. But repetition provides me (my viewers, dancers, and collaborators) with an opportunity to experience something again, but with more information and a new perspective. Bach has repetition in his Suites. I use repetition in my choreography.

6. The Cello Suites No. 6 were written in D Major. D Major is associated with joy and triumph. (Insert big sigh here.) Joy and Triumph = Community Building. Coming together to share stories. Continuing to do the Hard Work (of creation), despite Advisory and Obstacle.

I'm especially inspired by the idea of "Triumph."

I wonder - what will you feel after the experiencing the work?

Tickets are available: here

Get your tickets at the Dance Box Office.

"Unveiled" - Behind the scenes

I'm interested in the perspectives of the people with whom I work. Their voices contribute to and reflect the intention of the process. Check out some of their thoughts on (in)visible veins:

"Unveiled" Updates - what just happened?

This dance-making stuff is serious business.


Hours in the studio, physically researching.
Hours in conversations and reading, scholarly researching.
Scheduling rehearsals, meetings, performances.
Attending and leading rehearsals and meetings.
Designing and determining the images and text for marketing materials.
Communicating with collaborators.
Fundraising.
Advertising. (How many social media sites popped up yesterday?)
Create. Review. Revise. Repeat.
Create. Review. Revise. Repeat.
Create. Review. Revise. Repeat.
Create. Review. Revise. Repeat.


Until a puppy emerges. Or I sneeze.


In the process of creating our Fundraising video, Brandi and I had a lot of outtakes that we wanted to share with you.


Ultimately, this busi-ness about art making is one that is also about joy creation, community building, and sharing. It's time consuming and challenging, but it's important for me to remember that it's also about something so much larger than myself.


Please laugh with (and at) us!

Ingredients for the Metaphorical Soup - or the choreographic process

"So, what is this dance about? The one I'm going to see?"

This question is often asked of dancers and choreographers.

Often dance, an abstract art, is about many things and the audience is invited to have his/her own experience with the work.

Well, I answered, there are a lot of things that are inspiring the work. I see myself as bringing all of these seemingly different ideas and elements together and combining them in time and space. I make a giant circle with my arms. Kind of like I'm making soup.

"Okay... so what are the ingredients?"

I've been really interested in horseshoe crabs. I've been talking with some scientists and researchers and doing my own research on the little critters. They're really fascinating.

Horseshoe crab research goes into the soup.

The horseshoe crab story contains many metaphors for the human experience. For example, they have a very active interior covered by a calm, quiet exterior. (How many times have we needed to portray a calm exterior when the very opposite is happening interior, emotionally?)

They're not often noticed but play a very important role in the ecosystem. (How often have we felt like we are not noticed, despite how hard we're working?)

They molt and shed their barnacles (and all of the baggage that they've gathered) when they outgrown their current shell. (How often have we had to let go in order to grow?)

Molting takes a long time. (Growing, letting go, shedding. As with horseshoe crabs, as with our lives).

Horseshoe crabs are very vulnerable after molting, but in time, develop their original sturdiness.

There's more... But, I think you get the point.
Horseshoe crab metaphors go into the pot. 

Thinking about the soft body that emerges after the molting process reminds me of Mary Oliver's poem, Wild Geese.

Wild Geese goes into the pot. Mary Oliver reads her poem and provides some reflection

I'm also interested in the female experience. And I think that part of that experience is the strength and resilience to keep going, despite time and struggle. It's another metaphor from the horseshoe crabs because they have existed, almost unchanged, for millions of years, despite global changes.

Resilience goes into the pot. 

Dance and movement is my medium.

Dance and movement go into the pot.

In using dance, I'm engage contemporary choreographic structures and listen to my own intuitive creative voice.

Choreographic structures go into the pot. 
My creative voice goes into the pot. 

I'm working with five women who bring their experiences to the work and I invite them to share these experiences in the rehearsal process.

My dancers go into the pot. 

I'm playing with Bach's Cello Suite. It's timeless. And it wasn't originally intended to be a famous work of art.

Bach's Cello Suites and research on them go into the pot. 


I bring all of these things together and see what emerges.

"So, over time, things start boiling and rolling. And if I ladle out a bowl at any point in time, it could be a little different because of the boiling and rolling."

Yes! And that's one of the reasons I think performance practice is so important. The practice of performing is like taking the ladle and getting out a bowl. Does it need more salt? A choreographic shift? I can return to the process after the performance with more information. For the next performance, the piece will be a little more developed. A little more "cooked".

So, it's not about one thing, but an integration of many things. The audience member also brings their own elements to the table so, while I cannot control those, I still accept and honor them because together we're all engaging in the creative experience.

It's not linear, but neither is making soup.


Have you created something? What are your ingredients?