Photo: Julia Barstow
The performances of The Quarry Project
are POSTPONED until August 2021.
UPDATE: APRIL 30, 2020
Meanwhile, we are collectively discovering new pathways of learning and interacting while we keep our distance. This Sunday, the ensemble will have its 3rd remote gathering.
At 1pm, we Train together for half an hour, then Rehearse particular dances and songs.
We conclude with a meeting of our scene partners, talk through the ever-evolving details of the specifics within the larger project, then post our responses to the experience on our shared site.
In late February, I began a series of in-person meetings with the ensemble which, by March, moved to the telephone and continued for all of April. We have had animated and intimate conversations, often for over an hour. I have specific questions to ask each person which form a center around which we listen to our shared experiences with isolation and uncertainty in this time of great change. It has been so good for each of us that we will fold this format into the training. The goal for this “bonus” year is to deepen our knowledge of each other so that when we return to the water to perform, there is true and lasting trust.
The Quarry Project has a presence in four different media sites just this month:
LOCALLY
Hot off the press article in Seven Days:
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/dance-studios-students-and-artists-improvise-and-keep-moving/Content?oid=30294304
Vermont PBS local film makers, featuring our 2018 film:
https://video.vermontpbs.org/video/middlebury-new-filmmakers-festival-showcase-2020-mmlxwx
INTERNATIONALLY
Pecha Kucha:
https://www.pechakucha.com/presentations/the-quarry-project
Social Distancing Festival:
https:www.socialdistancingfestival.com
In closing, let me introduce the three who have joined me in the task of charting the course, peering into the crystal ball to come up with the road ahead for the project.
For 30 years, Leslie Anderson and I have been partners in this field of imagination. She is a highly trained artist – ballet, painting, theatre sets, costumes - who has kept her creativity alive through all sorts of weather and day jobs.
Emily Boedecker was born and brought up in the UK, so we forgive her transgressions and value her sense of humor. She is an excellent photographer and skilled at consensus building. Happily, she is now part of the team of collaborators for the project and will be the narrator.
As co-choreographer and rehearsal coach, Amy LePage’s gentleness and grounded fluidity are good foils for my sharp lines and direct approach. She is a valued practitioner in somatic work and is raising two marvelous and loving boys (who can burp on command, thanks to me).
We share a passion for growing things, a deep commitment to our creative practice, an aptitude for skillful collaboration, a love for the ephemeral art of dance, a belief that four smart brains can make one good decision. and a clear and present love for each other.
Until next month,
