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!

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