September 26, 2021
The Quarry Project Update

Here in Vermont, it is a glorious fall day with that particular autumn angle of light, all the spent tall flowers nodding, the lawn grass matted down and covering with leaves of yellows and browns, bright, sundrenched nasturtiums spreading into the paths, big puffy clouds passing like ships in the sky.

We had similar glorious days at the quarry in August; in the morning with the Band and in the late afternoon with the Dancers. The water was warm and a few of the days were hot.

Because the 28-member ensemble has 11 performers who have not experienced the quarry or the material created over the past 5 years, we focused on new work, leveling the playing field, and offering a safe and comfortable setting to find new ingredients for our final year of preparation.

Each time out on the water, the musicians explored within and around several songs. I joined them early one morning on the stage in a light rain – no instruments other than our voices and a few objects to strike or tap. It was glorious to sing with them and with the space, opening to the unknown, discovering new possibilities.

In the afternoons, the dancers worked on three short dances that will be part of the ending and one for the beginning of the piece. It was my laboratory time with these skilled movers and the new material to find what I was seeking. Lots of laughter and comfort in dancing what became somewhat familiar though different each day.

Leslie and Julia were behind their cameras. Above is the first photograph of Julia’s from this summer; more to come. Leslie’s footage is haunting and beautiful. Lukas Huffman will begin compiling and shaping it this fall. The focus of our 2021 film will be on the experience of being together again after a year of separation.

Each day the dancers were there, we had witnesses on a floating stage, watching process and writing about their experience. Here is a message I received from one after her time on the water in the quarry.

The images from this summer (2021) in the quarry witnessing the work
unfold will be with me for a very long time.
Meg Ostrum

Dance and music are such physically intimate artforms – touch, sharing of weight, of breath – that all artists in these two fields have been like fish out of water, waiting, longing to be next to each other, immersed in the creative environment that connects us.

In preparing for this newsletter, I came across this song that I distributed far and wide a year ago. It is such a potent piece filled with everything you can imagine. Worth revisiting. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs-ju_L9pEQ

Until October,

←August 2021 | October 2021→