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

":The mission of Gallim Dance, to play inside the imagination, to find juxtapositions of the mind and body that resonate in the soul, to investigate our limitations and pleasures, and to realize the endless human capacity for inspiration." - Gallim Dance

Recombination

The Creator

Andrea Miller is both the artistic director and choreographer of the quickly rising company, Gallim Dance, based out of New York City.  Miller was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and began her dance training there.  She later moved to Connecticut and furthered her training in Humphrey-Weidman technique, instructed by an original Humphrey-Weidman dancer, Ernestine Stodelle.  Miller attended Julliard for college and received a BFA in dance.  While studying at Julliard, she was able to work in close contact with Israel based choreographer, Ohad Naharin (Batsheva Ensemble) on several occasions.  After earning her degree, Miller auditioned for the Batsheva Ensemble and moved to Israel. When asked what led her to the Batsheva Ensemble, Miller responded "Ohad came to set a piece at Juilliard—I didn’t know who he was—and I really responded to the work. I felt like it related to everything I wanted out of dance intellectually and physically."  Miller returned to New York with the desire to choreograph and ended up beginning Gallim Dance in 2006.  Since the development of her company, she has created several full length works including "Snow," "I Can See Myself in Your Pupil," "Blush" and her newest work that premiered in 2010, "Wonderland." 

Nicely Put...

"Actively learning to dance is to become more you, more human, more related to your animal, to dig into your weaknesses and find your voice, your individuality, identity, sensuality." -Andrea Miller 8/20/10

A Peak at Gaga Technique In Class

Ohad Naharin's Gaga Technique

When beginning to research Andrea Miller's background and training, I kept stumbling upon the use of the term "Gaga," in relation to training, choreography and influence.  Because I rightfully assumed that this Julliard dancer's training did not include the Gaga that we are most familiar with, I decided to explore the term.  I found that Gaga is a meaningless word that Ohad Naharin used to label the form of movement training he developed after a back injury over 20 years ago.  While developing a method of  rehabilitation for his back, Naharin explored different places in his body that he could utilize in movement in order to deal with the pain.   The technique focuses a lot on self exploration, finding styles of movement that are unique to your body.  Emphasis is also placed on making movement feel pleasurable in your body and sending thoughts and energy to places in your body that are feeling weak.  The technique is taught much like Bill Evans teaches his classes.  Focus is turned internally with use of creative and detailed imagery.  The classes are taught in a way that warm up each part of the body, attention is not only sent to the core and major muscles, but just as equally to the fingers, toes and head.  Because dancers are taught to focus on every part of their body and how it functions, they are able to understand their movement more thoroughly and coordinate their movements to flow coherently. 
I have been mentally exploring these concepts already, due to the technique classes here at Brockport, and it was really interesting to see them also incorporated in the training and work done by Ohad Naharin.  I am very happy that the idea of internal focus seems to be becoming more prominent in the dance world because I feel that it is vital to the longevity of a dancer's career.  It is also exciting and interesting to me that Andrea Miller has had so much exposure to this style of movement because I admire her work.  It is exciting to me that I am being exposed to the same type of movement that has influenced her so strongly.

What On Earth Was That Last Video?

This is a piece created in 2005 by Ohad Naharin, head of the Batsheva Dance Company.  "Three" is a full length work that is a combination of three shorter pieces, "Bellus"(beauty,)"Humus"(Earth,) and "Seccus"(both this and not this.)  I wish that I had been able to find a full-length version of this work.  After reading more specifically about the background and ideas for the piece I became very curious as to how each piece would have flown together. The most important observation, when relating this video to Andrea Miller and her influences, is the obvious presence of the Gaga technique throughout the length of the work.   In the dynamic changes from small movements and stillness to quick, explosive movements that highlight mobility in each part of the body, we can see the technique style developed by Ohad Naharin.

Batsheva Dance Company

A Taste of Andrea Miller