Interdisciplinary Arts - Way Out West
- Mallory Amirault
- Jul 20, 2014
- 4 min read
Image of Lara Barclay
Recently, I was awarded a scholarship to a week-long workshop held in August, hosted by Mascall Dance. My former movement instructor from UBC, Andrea Rabinovitch, reached out and told me about their program Way Out West. Jennifer Mascall hosts the workshop, offering a variety of classes (experiential anatomy, yoga and technique), but the one I’m most interested in is the interdisciplinary workshop on pop-up performance. This class has five artists from a variety of performance media and all whose work is heavily involved in collaboration.
I got to see Three Cornered Hat, a show put on by Mascall Dance, that incorporated live dance, live improvisational and scripted music, and video. A book was the physical object dancers moved with, alongside each other. There were some moments when the dancers engaged directly with the audience, which was relatively captivating (I’d like to see something even more aggressive)-- but the performane edged into the realm of theatre as some dancers embodied a character marbled with story.
Two moments that remain poignant (I think the first may remain poignant for most who got to see the show) was when dancer, Billy Marchenski, stepped into the middle of us (we were all in three or so rows outlining the room, enclosing the space of the dancers), and he had a book hooked to the end of a fishing line, and began spinning, faster and faster. This red, spiral spined book extended out with a hypnotic physical force; the sound of its pages, clapping… clapping… I could hear the conversation between each blank page, waiting to be had. ...Fuck, I dug it. The other moment that had me double and triple check myself because it was so physically visceral (I was literally tensing each part of my muscle while watching the dancer’s bodies), was when Marchenski was crawling on all fours while dancer, Lara Barclay, stood upon him, mirroring and moving-- aaannnddd this is the moment when a dance defies linguistic tangibility (here's a partial clip). Needless to say, I was riveted and that moment was powerful.
Jennifer Mascall was the choreographer of the show and she will be hosting the WOW workshop next month. I did a little google/youtube search for the company and found this video of Jennifer speaking. I seriously recommend watching it; as a viewer and performance artist, I found myself moved. She asks some provoking questions, and really finds the few thought-full words to express our storied bodies. I'm feeling both honoured and excited to take a class with Jennifer.
The musician of Three Cornered Hat, Stefan Smulovitz, arched and trickled music from his violin that matched and extended the world that the dancers were making with their bodies, of each other, the floor, space… Was I captivated? Entirely. There was a small reception after the show and I got to speak with Stefan. His collaborative experience is extensive, and his disposition was that of a listener, so I'm stoked that he's going to be the musician for WOW.
Currenting collaborating with Stefan here in Vancouver is artist, Viviane Houle, who will the doing the vocal composition for the workshop. If you click on the link, you can listen to some of their projects together. If you dig experimental soundscape, or avant sound exploration, you’ll be into this. I enjoy listening to their stuff while I’m writing; they paint a world for me in which I make a final stroke to with my nose and fall deeply into a world they’ve audibly created. This video shows, Stefan and Vivane working live with dancers at the Vancouver Art Gallery, put on by Mascall Dance (it's pretty cool). I’m sincerely looking forward to Houle’s contribution to this workshop.
The videographer who’s joining WOW is artist, Candelario Andrade. After watching a few of his videos on vimeo, there was a certain sense of intimacy with his perspective on movement. He was the videographer for Three Cornered Hat, and Jennifer told us that he was a dream collaborator, that he understands how to collaborate. If anyone has ever been involved with a project working with more than just yourself… (and working with just yourself can be challenging in its own right), you know how valuable that kind of objective contribution is.
And finally, artist, Marcus Youssef, is joining the workshop from a theatre and writing perspective. Jennifer said that his work is cutting edge, and as a writer, I can’t wait to see what he will bring to this collaborative space-- I can’t help but be curious as to the performative elements of words and authorship. (authority of performativity? hmmm, dah, nevermind). I feel like I’ve met him before, and it’s probable since the community streets of east van becomes quickly familiar…but he’s been published in a few jammin’ literary art journals I’ve been following like Ricepaper and Grain.
Overall, the week will be stimulating and invigorating. I am really… just beside myself a bit.
If anyone thinks they might be interested in participating in this workshop, there are still some spots available. Something to note is that you can pick and choose your classes, or do drop-ins-- August schedules are weird, so it's nice to have that flexability. And if the artist’s budget is chapped, there's always the possibility to work something out, be it volunteering or some alternative-- just contact Mascall Dance's manager, Andrea Rabinovitch. And if there’s any general questions about this workshop or Mascall Dance, just post a reply or send me a direct message.
heeeeeehe.
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