Hey All!

I thought I’d post a new video from a recent Odorido rehearsal. So here is what will become the third section of the Iaido dance: “Walking Meditations”

Walking Meditations Clip March 2010 from Ellen Deutsch on Vimeo.

This is the section that the piece as a whole is named after (the piece’s full name is Odorido: Walking Meditations). The title comes from a quote by cast member and Iaido black belt Dan Keding, during one of their classes. He said: “Iaido is a walking meditation on life and death.” I loved that idea so much that it’s become a large part of the inspiration for the piece.

Enjoy!

~Ellen

Hey All!

Some exciting news! Yesterday afternoon, I was interviewed by one of my tutoring students for a science fair project. Apparently they were instructed to choose a career path and then do a project about a chemical compound associated with that career. Their extra credit assignment was to conduct an interview with a professional in their chosen career, which they would then incorporate into their final poster project.

Rebekah, naturally, had chosen Choreographer, and it all just followed from there. She asked lots of good questions, and took lots of notes. I gave her one of my snazzy new business cards, and she mentioned the possibility of having a laptop open on her table showing this very website. There’s definitely the potential for some new exposure here, so don’t be surprised if you see a lot of clean-up work happening on the site in the next few days. Got to get it ready for the fair!

~Ellen

Hey All!

Big news! Moo cards, the site where I get my business cards, is doing a deal with Etsy sellers wherein if you allow them to place a small ad for both sites at the bottom of a pack of your custom-designed business cards, you get the cards for free! I paid exactly six dollars (shipping and handling) for these beauties. I’d been thinking it was about time for me to have some real business cards for myself as a person, and the crazy assortment of stuff I do. I received them in the mail a few days ago, and I’m super excited!

Hey All!

Just thought I’d post a short video from rehearsal last night. The guys are goofing off with Bokkens (wooden swords). This started out as a structured improv, but by this point they’ve abandoned most of their prompts and are just improvising freely.

Odorido: Bokken Improv 7/22/09 from Ellen Deutsch on Vimeo.

I like the part where they all gang up on Luke.

~Ellen

Hey All!

Another video for your enjoyment! This past weekend we were working with concepts of shape, line, and negative space. After several improvised experiments on these themes, I led the performers in an instinctive writing exercise. Their prompt for a 5-minute stream-of-consciousness write was “Discuss how shape, line, and negative space relate to Iaido.” Afterwards, we had a lengthy discussion where we shared what we had written and any thoughts that came to us during or after the exercise. In response to that discussion, I initiated this experiment.

Odorido Rehearsal 6/21/09 from Ellen Deutsch on Vimeo.

We are all improvising freely, the martial artists using movement vocabulary from Iaido–minus the sword–as inspiration, and myself improvising with them. One by one, we take it in turns to leave the space and return to our writing, reading it aloud for the group to hear and move to. Each piece was read through twice (Mine and the first half of Josh’s went by before I remembered to turn on the camera.)

The martial artists are, in speaking order: Joshua Stafford, Luke Chiang, and Dan Keding. Enjoy!

~Ellen

Hey All!

Again with the videos! I’m working with my old college roommate, an actress and playwright, on creating some text to play around with for part 1 of Odorido. Part 1 centers around Okinawan Kobudo, a weapon style comprising five primary weapons and several secondary weapons. Each of the primary weapons is associated with a different element, and has a distinct personality and physical style. My roommate asked for some video of the various physical styles of the primary weapons, to help her create personas for them. I just sent her the link to the footage, and I figured I’d post it here as well.

The video features Josh Stafford, performing several kata as well as some improvisations. Part 1 of Odorido is most likely going to take the form of a suite of shorter dances, one for each weapon, with some sort of through line tying it all together.

Okinawan Kobudo Weapon Sampler from Ellen Deutsch on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

~Ellen

Hey All!

It’s been a while since my last post, I know, but this one’s a biggie. Rehearsals for Odorido (aka the Martial Arts Dance), part 2, are well under way! We’ve been meeting once a week for several months now, and I finally remembered to bring my computer and record some footage of our experiments this morning. So below you’ll find a video of selections from rehearsal on 5/24/09.

The first half of the video features Josh Stafford, experimenting with Laban’s theories of geometric space. He is joined in the second half by Luke Chiang as they play around with improvisations, reacting to prompts thrown out by me. Oh, and I added some music over top of it to replace the loud buzzing of the raw video and give it that little extra something. Check it out!

Odorido Rehearsal 5/24/09 from Ellen Deutsch on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

~Ellen

Hey all!

Rehearsals have begun for my new dance and martial arts collaboration, tentatively titled Odorido. Myself and three martial artists from my fiance’s Iaido class have met several times to experiment with applying dance concepts, specifically those found in dance improvisation, to the world of martial arts. Recent explorations have involved such things as expanding awareness and curiosity while moving, creating mental environments and images to deepen the movement quality of various phrases, and working with negative space. The swordsmen are very excited about the work we’ve been doing, as am I, and we’re greatly looking forward to watching this collaboration develop into something really interesting and unique, and ultimately beneficial to our work in both fields.

Hey All!

So I met with Dan Keding this afternoon to discuss ideas for our storytelling/dance collaboration. We talked about lots of things, and a bunch of good ideas got thrown around. My favorite of which is the idea of taking some of the classic story ballets (Giselle, Coppelia, Swan Lake and whatnot), and retelling them in the storyteller’s medium. What would it be like to hear Giselle told as a story? Now take that newly-created story, and make a dance to THAT. Nifty, huh?

~Ellen

Hello All!

So there have been a few changes in my thoughts relating to my first professional Geeksdanz endeavor. I’ve decided that it might be a good idea to change gears and make Odorido the first Geeksdanz concert, primarily because rehearsing a duet with my fiancee is proving much simpler to organize than finding six dancers and a bunch of RP geeks. I’ve been scheming and planning lots of ideas based around both Kobudo and Iaido (Okinawan weapons and Japanese swordsmanship, respectively), and the current plan is to create two one-act pieces, each dealing with one of these ancient arts. The cast could simply be Josh and I, or could potentially include some of his fellow martial artists and one or two additional willing dancers. We rehearsed earlier this week, and we’re both very excited to see what develops.

On another front, I recently received a very exciting offer. Through my fiance’s martial arts classes I’ve met and become friends with Dan Keding, a world-renowned storyteller. A few days ago he expressed his interest in working with me on creating a performance combining storytelling and dance. We tossed several ideas around, including the possibility of performing at the Spurlock Museum in Urbana. I instantly became excited, not only at the honor of working with such an amazing and talented man, but at the fact that the finished product would most likely turn out to be a Geeksdanz! He said he’d plan to lend me some recordings of his performances so that I could listen and choose some favorite stories to work with. This collaboration has the potential to go somewhere REALLY exciting REALLY fast!

Dan has his own professional website, www.dankeding.com. Be sure to check it out!

~Ellen