​​​ON THE DRAMATURGY

This music piece is an  'Audible sculpture phase piece' (Reich).
Influenced by the pendulum movement, and its changing overtime due to the force of gravity, we played with the idea of repetition changing overtime. 

Inspired by Gilles Deleuze's Difference and Repetition, the philosophical idea is explored that repetition is not mere duplication but rather a process that produces difference. 

In the choreography, the repetitive elements invite the viewer’s heightened sensitivity, noticing the shifts in rhythm, dynamics, spatial orientation, or emotional quality. As Deleuze suggests, repetition allows for the depth of experience, with each iteration bringing a new layer of perception. For the performer, these incremental changes offer a sense of deepening embodiment, where the movement becomes richer and more complex as it’s explored over time, much like the unfolding of a thought or feeling.

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ON THE CHOREOGRAPHY

The choice of this recording serves as a map for the choreography. For the dancers an interesting existentialist contradiction arises: ensnared within an obsessive thought pattern, yet keenly aware of it; deep in thought in an attempt to recall the different motifs and direction changes, propelling us into ceaseless movement, yet at the same time, highly present in a simultaneous heightened awareness due to the nature of the setting, which is a dance performance. 

 

This is quite a liberating place to be. As well as highly exhausting. It made me reconsider the role of the performance as a type of meditation practice for the performers as well as an observational practice for the audience. How do the motifs shift? How quickly? Is it out of necessity or choreographic whim, and where is the meeting place of the two? 

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In the end, 'when the pendulums come to rest you enter a pulsing drone'- this is quite an important transformative transition. This sound journey has left its mark on the body,  enduring beyond the cessation of the sound itself, much like the effects of memory on the body.

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ON SOLITUDE

Though there are two humans present, we barely make any contact, or relate in any meaningful way, except for the reactions to the sound. The poignant realization of our collective solitude becomes painfully apparent as it resonates in the different strata of our existence, even more so now, with the advent of technology. 

 

As Reich noted about his installation piece, it 'is a very provocative piece because it's not something you usually hear at concerts.  So, it sits there as kind of a loner'. 

 

It mirrors the human condition—an inherent aloneness, concluding our journeys where we began. At times, our choreographies align, our thought processes resonating harmoniously, occasionally branching off into divergent paths. 

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We take action, we move to not drown in the overwhelming solitude. 

How do we experience the time in between start and finish? 

How do we find meaning?

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ON THE SOUND

The sound is based on a microphone installation piece by Steve Reich, where two microphones are suspended like pendulums over speakers, reaching inertia overtime. 

 

The feedback created manifests an interesting soundscape. 

The sound starts quite contained yet over time it becomes this journey of ever changing rhythms and patterns where whole worlds are created. In essence this is what moves the choreography: the patterns and rhythms experienced. 

 

This brought up two questions: how can one actually define what music is? How does our perception and memory affect the way we perceive sound?​​​​​​​​​​