Last Thursday, our class was fortunate enough to attend a dance rehearsal of choreographer John Jasperse. Writing about this rehearsal merits a different kind of analysis than other dance performances because what we observed was not a final product. What we saw was like a rudimentary template- there is still much work and thought that needs to go into it before it is sometime Mr. Jasperse finds good enough to show the world. We were blessed to be able to watch the physical manifestation of Mr. Jasperse’s imagination; we witnessed mistakes being made, jokes being told and overall being able to see that the dancers and the choreographer are people like us. I personally enjoyed the absence of that “forth wall” that is so prevalent in performances, while really let me connect to the ideas that Mr. Oliver discussed with us when he took a break.

The first thing that struck me was the attention to minute details as well as the input of ideas from the dancers to the choreographer. Being an abstract dance, I always had the preconception that pieces were made relatively easily- the choreographer would teach the dancers some moves, they would get the costumes, music and backdrop ready and it would be show-time. I was proven completely wrong. The level of attention Jasperse gave to his two dancers was astounding- he would mention placement of fingers, positioning of the feet, movement of the eyes and many other things I couldn’t catch. He would stop them ever time something significant would go wrong, talk about it and restart them again. It was interesting how the entire process was so scientific and analytical; each and every movement had a specific meaning, and to be properly conveyed it had to be done with the utmost precision.

The dance rehearsal can be split into two distinct parts; the first part was subtle and beautiful, while the second part was full of acrobatic, explosive movements and was very “in your face”.  Jasperse discussed the idea of emergence in his project description, something I was able to distinctively see in his work. He talked about the idea of splitting the body into 13 different parts, and assigning movements attributed to each to “dance” a sentence. This would not only help him in his endeavor of creating a piece that doesn’t look like something he would make (thus without his distinctive style), but was also allow him to showcase the idea of emergence, which is when new functions and arise through the interaction of difference parts. Placing movements that seemingly have no connection together and fine-tuning them is his attempt at recreating a phenomena seen often in nature; the “native” is the movements and poses he knows so well while the “foreign” is allowing his dance to become far greater than what he can control. I also saw the idea of emergence in his piece through the selection of his two dancers: Stuart and Simon. While Simon had a ballet background as seen through his rather stiff and restricted movements and tightening of his legs and arms while dancing, Stuart seems to have had a background in other styles of dance. He moved with a fluidity and grace that really brought a whole different meaning to the movements he did; he was able to showcase the beauty and flexibility of the human body.

The effect the background music had on my interpretation of the dance was immediate and startling. The first part of the rehearsal was at first done with a metronome, allowing the dancers to keep track of their movements and be in sync with one another. I thought it seemed rather bland with attached to the steady clicking of the music, and it was to my pleasant surprise when I found out it wasn’t the music Jasperse was planning on using. The more abstract music, which consisted of unintelligible whisperings of multiple people layered on above another, the whole dance took on another meaning. Following up with the idea of emergence, this music gave a whole other dimension and complexity to the dance.

As a whole, it was immensely satisfying to watch Jasperse’s rehearsal. To be able to watch something so intimate was quite a humbling experience; I was able to see that there is nothing that can be done well in this world without hard work. To see the dancers at their most vulnerable was quite an experience, because I got to really understand their thought processes when they themselves try to interpret the dance and really understand the effect what they are doing is having on the audience. I look forward to the completion of the dance, and hope I can see a performance and really see how the dance evolves in the coming months.