Preview
THE MOMO PROJECT
Alberta Dance Explosions
Runs February 19 to 21
Dancers’ Studio West
(2007 - 10th Ave. S.W.)
Contact improvisation is one of those rare forms of dance and movement where the sequences may not be timed or choreographed. The dancers communicate through movement, but the movement is not necessarily planned and always stems from what is happening in the present.
Contact improvisation is also about collaboration between the participants, as the control of movement is often shared by both performers. I found this out from attending one of the contact improv classes being taught by Pamela Boyd, George McFaul and Laurie Montemurro – even when one is being lifted, the body must still be present and active.
The movement learned in this class will be featured in a performance at this year’s Alberta Dance Explosions, the annual festival of new choreography produced by Dancers’ Studio West.
This work with contact improv, called The MOMO Project, is an experiment, according to Montemurro.
"It goes back to the roots of modern dance and improvisation, which is about being in the moment," she says. "It’s not about a product. It’s really about the process of performing at that particular moment with us as a group of individuals."
The project integrates people of all abilities, able bodied and disabled – an idea put forth by Boyd.
"She’d seen integrated dance projects before in Australia and other festivals in the States, and she wanted to see if this could happen in Calgary," explains Montemurro.
The classes began this past fall and Montemurro and her colleagues knew at some point they would like to do a performance as well. "We thought that Dance Explosions is a really sensible venue, because it’s about the community and who dances in the community," Montemurro says.
To build a piece integrating performers of different levels and physical abilities, Montemurro, Boyd and McFaul needed to find ways to communicate with the whole group.
"We’ve developed a core for the language – using language that is familiar to our performers," Montemurro says. In class, the three created a movement score using actions all the performers would be acquainted with.
"It’s very simple, but within the boundaries, the parameters, of this very simple score, it’s very rich with movement," Montemurro says. "(In the score’s simple subtext) you can imitate someone, you can do the opposite of what they are doing, you can touch them, you can jump, you can roll…. And within that, it’s endless how many sentences (with this sort of vocabulary of movement) can be created."
Randy Fowler, who has been part of the Foothills hospital’s educational PARTY (Preventing Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth) program for many years, wrote the narrative for the performance to be seen at the festival. It is based on his personal experience of being injured in a car accident and his work to recuperate and regain his physical abilities afterwards.
The MOMO Project will be part of the second week of the 22nd annual Alberta Dance Explosions Festival of Choreography, which takes place over three weekends this month.
The first week, which begins on Thursday, February 12, includes works by invited guest choreographers Denise Clarke of One Yellow Rabbit, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks’ Kim Cooper, Polish choreographer Wojciech Mochniej and Michèle Moss, artistic director of Dancers’ Studio West. The second week, from February 19 to 21, offers works by Montemurro, Christine Carr and Krysten Blair, among others. Decidedly Jazz co-founder Hannah Stilwell, Edmonton’s Kathy Ochoa and Mochniej are part of the third week, from February 26 to 28.
For more information on the festival visit www.dswlive.ca |
Copyright ©2004 FFWD. All rights reserved.