This project was created to serve as a relationship builder between two art disciplines. Participants are considered specialists in their field, studying or already professional artists in the field of drawing or dancing. The two, like the stages of a relationship, will meet, interact, and bond during a 10 minute performance. I call these three stages the encounter, the dig, and the union; where the participants at first will stay in their own specialty, observe each other, and start to feed off each other, while getting to know the other through movement. Finally, the participants will melt together as the different sides become both artists in dance and drawing, resulting in what Nicolas Bourriaud calls ‘relational aesthetics’: art that creates bonds between otherwise disparate elements (2002, p15 & 19).
This piece is to expose students from specific disciplines (dancing and drawing) to open their hearts to something new. Many Concordia students are encouraged to ‘get connected’ but administration makes it difficult to explore different faculties. In art education, for example, it is assumed by most students in the fine arts department that art educators are not talented with artistic disciplines, whereas some education students believe art educators to be simply failed artists. In art education, many studio classes as well as many education classes are necessary for graduation from the program, but most are off limits- they are not reserved for the art education students specifically- these students are stuck at the bottom of the ravine between art and education. Similarly, drama students stay clear of the music faculty, and the dance students hardly frequent the ceramics majors. Paolo Freire suggested that knowledge was constructed socially; it only makes sense that art should also be made in a social context, as writes Gablik in Connective Aesthetics (1995). This performance will instil a sense of understanding and respect for the other, while eliminating this sense of ‘the other’. Ideally, this will create friendship between the participants, and the fear or distaste from the unknown will disappear and make place to awareness at the very least.
With no budget, choice of space is limited and materials must be paid from my own hands. I will provide paper, markers, and accessories, but it is necessary to create a simple performance, and in which something free and easy to transport is the main subject of the piece. The human body here is the main material as it is perfectly apt to explain the concept of movement. In dance as well as drawing, body movements create the artworks. However, It is more than human bodies that perform; the purpose is for real people (personalities included) to meet, interact, and gain greater respect and a deeper understanding of the other. Thus, it serves that all participants are chosen artists in Montreal’s community, including students from Concordia who are considered future artists, if they aren’t already.
This performance will take place inside Concordia University itself. Every month, the Dance Student’s Association (DSA) organizes a contemporary dance night called Studio 7. It happens on the 7th floor of the new John Molson School of Business on the south-west corner of Maisonneuve and Guy streets, in room 265. The room itself is the size of a regular classroom. Two of its walls are large windows that frame a gorgeous view of the south of Montreal. Thick, dark curtains cover the windows so as to create a submersive, floating environment during the performances although, sometimes, the dancers use them for the benefit of their piece. Mats and bleachers are set up for the event, with tables and chairs for the spectators. Beer is served for 2$ a bottle. A sound system is brought in to play the soundtracks that accompany the pieces and the light is controlled by a seemingly complicated mother board. Volunteers from the dance department are in charge of each of these stations, and the president of the DSA hosts the series of performances. Studio 7 begins at 8pm and ends around 10:30pm with an intermission of about 30 minutes which starts at 9pm. About 12 performances are shown during the evening.
Studio 7 invites all dance students to show their work, to get feedback, to practice or even just to have fun. The crowd is often invited to give feedback either in the forms of questions or written comments, and sometimes is asked to participate in an interactive piece. Some perform for the first time, some are returning with an altered version of the piece they presented last month. Studio 7 gives these students the chance to do what they love, and to become better dancers through the opportunity they get to practice and to share their work with other dancers.
Most of the performers at Studio 7 are undergraduate students from Concordia’s contemporary dance department. Occasionally, some graduate students come to the event to present parts of their thesis as practice and t get feedback, and sometimes even students from other universities visit Studio 7 to meet other contemporary dancers. Students from other departments are rarely seen there, and that’s why I brought in some who love to draw. I wanted to make obvious that movement is present- and necessary to make a drawing as well as to dance. By concentrating on similarities, rather than differences, I facilitated the development of a strong relationship; as movement is obvious in both disciplines, concentrating on this theme should help bring these different people together.
I also invited artists from Montreal’s community to set a strong base for the performance, because “the knowledge, skills, and experiences of … other community professionals provide extremely valuable learning opportunities for university students and professors” (Taylor & Ballangee-Morris, 2004, p7). The mentors will be taking initiatives, as I am assuming they will be more comfortable with acting out the performance, as they have more experience in the art world. With them leading the way, it is easier for the other participants to get comfortable with the actions to be performed. This can lead to a greater amount of risk-taking, most of which can end up adding much more value and originality to the piece.
With the creation of a project comes many hits and misses. Specific populations have specific needs and expectations, materials and space can also be a challenge to obtain or to adapt to. For this particular performance, dancers and drawers aren’t always easy to manage. Dancers may be used to performing whereas drawer may not be comfortable in front of a crowd. Some take themselves too seriously, some not enough. Some need clear directions, and some need freedom to improvise. To find the right balance can be hard, but I believe with the right guidelines, everyone can benefit. By clearly identifying the important aspects of the piece: the cues and the main actions, room is left for interpretation. The participants must be made aware of the goal of the piece by experiencing it themselves- that way, the surprise isn’t only for the spectators, but for the performers as well. The directions should be given not right before the performance, but approximately an hour before so as to let the participant decide to either memorize the piece or add to it to make way for surprises. Individual decisions are important to make the performance genuine.
Although the participants themselves are the main ‘material’, paper and markers will be necessary for the drawing aspect of the piece. A space to display the paper for the crowd to follow the development of the performance is also important. A board can be used to put up the drawings, or the act of drawing itself can be filmed, or the paper could be propped up for the spectators to see the drawing evolve. The spectators need to see the development of the piece- they need a focus to keep their interest throughout the entire performance. Similarly, the performers need to be able to follow a clear path if they choose to do so. Assigning a dancer to every drawer is key in keeping directions clear and simple. By giving an accessory of a matching color to one drawer and one dancer, it adds a bit of color to the piece and helps the participants focus. In a small room such as Studio 7, it is may be easy to keep an eye on his/her partner, but it also is a risk for confusion as the people are more concentrated in one space. A visual reference in this case is necessary.
It is important to note also that the size of the studio 7 stage will decide upon the number of participants. An average of 10 performers should fit well within the stage boundaries. Should the piece be performed on a larger stage, the number of participants will augment as well.
This performance which is meant “to change” (Ulbricht, 2005, p10) a certain population’s perspectives, does so by allowing an encounter with the unknown. Despite the difference between dance and drawing, the performance manages “to bridge the gap between art understandings of different communities” (Ulbricht, 2005, p8) by focussing on their common element: movement. As any good community based art education, this project promotes learning through meaningful exchanges. (Ulbricht, 2005, p8-11) Learning in turn promotes appreciation, which allows a bond between two entities to develop. This project is not meant to change the world, but only to improve a few people’s lives a bit at a time by opening their eyes to the possibilities that lie before them.
Bibliography
Bourriaud, Nicolas. (2002). Relational Aesthetics. Les Presses du Réel, (pp.11-24). France : Dijon. Found on http://wiki.daviddarts.com/images/3/38/Bourriaud.pdf
Gablik, S. (1995). Connective aesthetics. In S. Lacy (Ed.), Mapping the terrain: New genre public art, (pp. 74-87). Seattle: Bay Press.
Inwood, H. (2010). Quality Art Education. Handout. ARTE340. Concordia University.
Ross, T. (2006). Aesthetic Autonomy and Interdisciplinarity: A response to Nicolas Bourriaud’s relational aesthetics. Journal of Visual Art Practice, 5 (3), 167-181.
Taylor, P. and Ballangee-Morris, C. (2004). Service-Learning: A language of ‘we’. Art Education, 57 (6), 6-12.
Ulbricht, J. (2005). What is community-based art education? Art Education, 58 (2), 6-12.
