Inside the Locker Iteration 1

So for this iteration, I wanted to just get a test for how my body could handle being in this environment. So on December 8, 2018 from 1:30 to 2:30pm. Caleb locked me in the locker for an hour, and I made notes of particular things.

The first thing is that I noticed it went by quickly, and using my phone helped. So for the next iteration I would try to remove this as much. Other than that my emotions were pretty muted, the thought of being forgotten did cross my mind, but it was a minor thought. Overall, I knew I could handle this space along with being pushed further.

Inside the Locker

So for this performance piece, I took inspiration from Teching Hseih and how he isolated himiself from society for an extended period of time. While I was not going to complete it on this grand of a scale, because of money and the potential psychcological harm it may have on my own person, I was inspired by this idea of (with the exception of food in his case) isolating one’s self from the outside world in a form.

I also looked at a previous project done in one of my art classes where a group of us were assigned the bottom floor of the Harder Hall (Where the iterations take place), and we each took turns going into a locker. As for me and two other people, we were locked in for a very brief period of time.

So the idea is that I would (with the help of Caleb Scott), lock myself in a locker for a period of time and record certain emotions that were being brought up. There is also this idea of my own limitations which was one of the overlaying themes of this personal project.

Site Specific Choreography

Business Casual

Triangular stair case in Harder Hall

Within this environment, I wanted to focus on movements which emphasized this notion of professionalism compared to playfulness. I had the dancers remember this idea of a pin like, professional shape as the performance carried out. There would be various movements where they break free of this flow, but I tried to get them to get back to this shape at various points. There was also this heavy usage of synchronized movements along with slightly differentiated ones which I wanted to tie into this idea of a unified professional unit, and this transition from those movements to other areas of the space. The moments of this wild movements I wanted a quick time and strong weight brought in that emphasized this notion of uncontrolled play.

Audience Framing: I made the decision to have the audience stand along the wall due to personal experiences within the space. When one would pass by in a staircase or hallway, they are usually not sitting down and just using the space to get to their destination, which is also something I wanted to carry into the performance. So I wanted the audience in a position where they could witness the dancers’ movements at eye level and still be in a safe position. My dancers are Amanda Godsil, Angela Childs, Mandela Franciscono, Marc Widderman, Mia Bagnall, and Monet Harris.