Habitat: Indiegogo campaign

Our indiegogo campaign has less than 9 days left and we need all the help we can get. Will you check out our indiegogo campaign video and if you are able to donate a few dollar bills, we would be very grateful!

Thank you shoutout to Media Generation (http://www.media-generation.com/, Annette Floystrup, tribalyna, Anonymous, and Kyla Barkin for your donations!

Singapore. The process

Habitat,

The process:

The nature of a collaborative creative process between dance artists produces unexpected results. Habitat is becoming a waiting ‘Zone’ where I witness the new and bizarre while humming to a tune in my head.  The singer that can’t tune one note (myself) finds himself delighted with his own music.

The dance material is taken out of context and while dancing I seem to feel like I am doing what I shouldn’t in the middle of a busy road. Habit is opening a new door to the poetic aspects of living in a Modern city – Singapore. I face the difficult task of turning the mundane tasks into interesting subjects – finding in the ridiculous of brushing my teeth every morning with my eyes closed an inspiration to develop gestural choreography.

In the beginning I thought pedestrian. The latter is a very famous word in the umbrella of contemporary dance; I come across this empty concept in all sorts of places, at the costume department, in the studio with other creatives, on stage and in press releases. I understand now that pedestrian is a very vague and empty word that doesn’t inspire me to create dance.

Habitat is a creative process where I discover my private self – creating new and bold dance material inspired in my most private and mundane situations.

Habitat of a Singaporean dancer: Kai Eng

In February, I went to the home of a Singaporean dancer, who had just moved back from living in Stockholm for a number of years. She had just moved into this apartment she shares with her boyfriend and her landlord that has typical Singapore views of government-subsidized housing called HDBs in an area that I'm not familiar with. Even though I've grown up living in Singapore, I didn't have many local friends as I attended an International school and an American school later on. Almost all of us lived in private condos and no one I knew lived in an HDB flat from my schools. I had very few local Singaporean friends who I'd met through the dance studios I trained at and through the ice rink (I used to be a figure skater). This particular dancer, I had met at the ice rink. She and I were rink buddies back in those youthful days. We sort of lost touch after I moved away from Singapore to the US but reconnected on Facebook. She became a modern dancer while in Sweden.

When we look at the Habitat we place ourselves in, it reflects a physical place of where we our in our life in that current moment. I had asked Kai why she didn't move back "home" with her mother and she replied that she was going to live with her boyfriend that moved with her from Sweden and didn't want to burden her mother. She chose her living arrangements. I believe that when we get to choose our own living arrangements, we are much happier wherever we are. We get to unleash our truest selves 24/7 instead of just behind closed doors.

Photo Credit: Alistair Chew (Visit his Tumblr blog with AMAZING Dance Photography! Tonight We Dance)

 
























 


Photo Credit: Alistair Chew (Visit his Tumblr blog with AMAZING Dance Photography! Tonight We Dance)

Her current habitat is humble and simple. Her landlord was excited to have us film and photograph in her apartment.


A BIG Thank you to Alistair Chew (Seriously check out his blog: Tonight We Dance) and Kai Eng for this photoshoot! I'll have more pics highlighted from that shoot that will be used as part of the backdrop for Habitat. 

A lone dancer in rehearsal

I have been conducting virtual rehearsals for a few months with Laura now working on her solo and this project, it got me to thinking about the process of rehearsing and how it changes the work we create in different types of situations and spaces. This piece is very much a collaborative process with my dancers because I'm working with them one-on-one and in the case of Laura, virtually. The ideas that I have come to fruitition entirely when we both come up with ideas. Back and forth emails. So much of how we live today exist in a virtual habitat and a physical habitat.

I know I'm not alone in this same process of creation. I've spoken to a number of artists who do collaborations trans-globally with each other seem to also work this way as well.

Now I'm curious because when I'm in a studio alone, I feel very much alone in my own skin. Even if I'm choreographing for something, I feel alone. Does anyone else feel this way? I wonder if Laura feels this way when she goes to the studio to work on Habitat. Maybe its different because she's accountable for these video recordings to send them to me so I can give feedback. Because there's that accountability.

I'm having a hard time shaping my own solo for this piece. Perhaps I should create an accountability and make videos as well to send to my dancers for feedback.

This is the most recent video of Laura's rehearsal. The solo is shaping up nicely. A little more tweaks and then I can be satisfied with it.


p.s. I like the studio that she's rehearsing in has light colored marley and white walls. I'm imagining all the projections behind her bouncing off.

A rehearsal video

I have a new dancer in the Habitat piece and his name is Ezekiel. We work for the same arts school who is also generously donating space for us to work together when the studios aren't being used. A BIG shout out and THANK YOU to Centre Stage & Pete for generously letting us use the studios.

Here's a rehearsal clip from our first rehearsal, this will be part of a transition section currently titled "Wall".

Habitat Pictures from Around the World

 

I find other people's habitat extremely interesting because you really get to know someone just by visiting their home. From the decorations, household items, to the architecture of the home is all orchestrated by the inhabitant of that place. A few months ago, I had an open call for pictures of people's past or current habitat and these are a few of the pictures that were sent to me. These pictures will be used as a backdrop for Habitat.

If you would like to send me a picture of your past home or current living situation, feel free to email me at ahdancecompany@gmail.com








Anastasia Ashman's Habitat

Cheilaugh Garvey's daughters' former Habitat

Maria Foley's Habitat

Rob Oandasan's Childhood Habitat

Laura's Solo performance at Cool New York 2013

The snowstorm dubbed "Nemo" did not stop Cool New York 2013 festival from happening. The Show must go on! With the impending storm, Laura went to tech/dress rehearsal before the storm. We were scheduled to perform Friday evening and Sunday evening, however, "Nemo" blanketed the East Coast with over 2 feet of snow (POWDAH!) and she only got to perform Habitat on Sunday to a FULL HOUSE!

The following video was taken during dress rehearsal. We'll be working on the solo in the coming months so its a bit more polished for the upcoming fringe festival in Edinburgh (more on that later on!). I love the lighting and mood of this solo - it fits Laura so well.


     


Laura had to alter the performance a bit due to the FULL HOUSE with people sitting on the floor in front of the pillars. But I'm sure she danced beautifully. (I wish more performances were livestreamed so global audiences can watch as well)

Habitat is shaping up really nicely - I have rehearsal this weekend with a dancer/teacher living in Singapore. I'll definitely share the rehearsal video in the coming weeks.