The Creative Process of Wonderland

B: You most recent (and upcoming) work is entitled “Wonderland”. You’ve mentioned before that the inspiration for this came from the Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s installation “Head On”. Where did this name come from? How has this piece been “incorporated” into “Wonderland”?

AM: I think “Wonderland” is sort of coming from that installation, TS Elliot’s “The Wasteland,” and Alice in Wonderland. So there’s something very much like looking at a bleakness, a moment of depression and pause, a response to being involved in a traumatic time and taking a look at the debris (that’s what “The Wasteland” is for me), but then also a beautiful absurdist dreamscape (from Alice) and I wanted to take the real world ideas and put them in this absurdist world where I could play with my imagination and make characters, be inventive in it, and be responsive to this real world idea. I think this is also what CGQ did.

 B: How do you choose the music that you use in your pieces? And more specifically, how did you choose the music for “Wonderland”?
AM: I’m listening to music all the time, and in the period of time I’m creating I’m really alert and sensitive to the things I’m hearing. I begin to filter more and more material that applies to the world I’m creating. It’s about being available to hearing the things during the day, and then I realize, “Oh yeah, this is part of ‘Wonderland’.” And after that what doesn’t fit gets cut.

B: In “Wonderland” you’re working with nearly twice the number of dancers as your last piece. What are the positives and negatives of this?
AM: I think there are inherently more structural and architectural choices to make with so many people, and I also have a sense of population or crowd. Like when you visit another country, you see how many people are there, or if its cities are empty. I really wanted a sense for the potential for chaos, a crowd, a pack. I needed a mass feeling. I also wanted to be able to expose the individual within the mass so I could make a contrast with this group. The individual dancer will always be important to me, especially the vulnerability of a person. Even if I have a lot of people onstage, I’ll always be interested in looking into each persona.

Interview of Andrea Miller by Base Interviews

Gallim's Newest Work: Wonderland

Interesting Podcast Interview With Andrea Miller

Podcast - Dance in Israel

Blush

"Blush" vs. Butoh

One of the thing's that really drew me into some of Andrea Miller's work was the distinct presence of Butoh influence.  When I was first exposed to Butoh, I found it to be overwhelmingly alarming and though I understood the point message behind it, it was hard for me to grasp why it needed to be portrayed in such a morbid way.  Because Butoh left such a powerful negative image in my mind, I was intrigued when I began to pick up on it's presence in the work of Andrea Miller.  In "Blush," the six dancers are dressed in all black and their skin is painted white, a common aesthetic in Butoh.  In the beginning of the piece dancers are cold and white, and dance separated from each other.  As they dance their bodies warm up and begin to sweat, they begin to come into contact with one another, and the white paint begins to rub off and their pink skin is revealed, creating a very visible depiction of the title "Blush."  The Butoh influence is present throughout the whole piece in the facial expressions of the dancers.  
I found an article that talked a lot about the connection between this piece and the Butoh aesthetic written by Marty Hughley in The America's Intelligence Wire.  Hughley wrote: "The Butoh influence shows also in early sections that have the stately tension of ritualized drama. At one point, a pair of women dancers sit on the floor, one leg crossed in front, and rotate their hips toward the floor on their right. But such a simple, physically undemanding move makes a big impact because of its carefully calibrated execution and the power of their steely gaze at the audience."  I was unable to find the full work on video, so I have not seen this part of the piece; however the way he describes the movement makes the connection very clear. This article along with my personal observations of the work are very interesting, because when searching information displayed by Andrea Miller herself(in interview by Base Interviews) and from Gallim's repertory information, there is no mention at all of Butoh influence.

Blush: 2009

Photo's from Blush

Unfortunately, I was unable to post actual pictures from Blush onto my blog due to copyright rights; but I thought they were fantastic, so here's a link!

Brockport Graduate: Dan Walczak