Jenn Doan - Producer/Dancer

After taking several weeks to let this whole project sit, digest, and give space and time for reflection. I came to learn one major thing (among many other little things of course)… Communication was at the core of inlayers and its success. There was communication that  needed effective execution on 2 levels.  The first was the communication with us artist with the online audience.  The second is the communication that was needed between each and every person involved in creating  inlayers.

First… revealing the creative process to audiences and engaging in dialogue with them.

We knew people were watching the episodes and were reading the blog posts but it was a challenge to have ongoing dialogue with them.  The effort to have the viewing public converse with us was not easy and in that respect I felt we did not achieve the level of engagement that we wanted. Much of this was our responsibility to find ways to stimulate the online dialogue.  We really wanted people to ask us more questions and probe us on what they were watching online. We also wanted to have people be honest with their feedback, whether is was about the overall project or the dance work they were watching unfold through each video.  We weren’t looking for just a “good job” or “cool project”. We wanted constructive criticism and honest thoughts.  Perhaps we needed to make this more clear and communicate it in some way. These strategies still need a lot of refinement… and I remind myself.. this whole game is still quite experimental. We were already at a challenge with the fact that we were working to make contemporary dance accessible (something I feel is still not so to the general public) by creating a project that was accessible (through the world wide web with videos that could be watched) and educational ( exposing what the heck we were up to inside the studios and asking people to ask questions and talk to us.) It is still somewhat puzzling. How do we get people to come out behind the screens? How do we create even more interest so people will want to talk to us? How can we inspire more audience activity?

Its seems that at the end of all this.. I have finished up with even more questions than I started with. This project seems to have served as a jumping off point for this type of “dance using social media to reach a wider audience”.. but not just reach to them… but having them be actively involved with their voices to really create a rich overall community dialogue. It really makes me wonder then… are we simply asking for too much from the audiences then?

Second…  Establishing and sustaining effective communication between all involved team members to work together towards a common vision. In any of life’s endeavors that requires more than just yourself… this is the most challenging aspect of any and all relationships.

Being the head producer of inlayers I was at one point or another in  communication with at least 15-20 people who were somehow as piece of the inlayers puzzle (4 dancers, choreographer, rehearsal director, filmmaker, web designer / administrator, 2 lighting designers, stage manager, event / volunteer co-coordinator afterparty organizers, business sponsors, printers, photographer, venue manager, and so many more)

I was basically at the center of the communication stream. Most things had to cross into me and from there I was in charge of overseeing that all things are moving in the direction that it needs to.  I always had to make sure that I understood the big picture and that everyone involved was painting that picture together, even though many were not aware of all the other players. It was quite a juggling act and on its own a full time job (not only was I in charge of this I was also doing a few other roles at the same time. ) I spent 75% of my production work writing emails and making phone calls and talking to others.

In honestly, there were definitely miscommunications. Ones that were minor and ones that were major. It’s inevitable. One that were fixable then and there and ones that once was realized was just to late to rectify.. at least in this round but served as a learning experience for the next round. Usually these major ones affected the people involved in a major way.

What I definitely learned as the producer in charge was… Don’t make assumptions!! Don’t make assumptions that people are always clear on their tasks / responsibilities. It seems common sense but actually in the midst of madness its really easy to let happen. Even if I don’t feel it is necessary to ask again or explain again… it needs to be done because often once a mistake happens or something that was suppose to be done was not.. it creates too much trouble to fix it and often you can’t. Yes it’s important for me to learn to delegate and let go of control but this is a skill. To learn a balance between letting go and holding the reigns enough.

Inlayers was not a conventional dance project for damn sure. It was like a molecule in which the nucleus of it was the core idea and the surrounding electrons were three major aspects. The dance piece that was created by Taryn, the web aspect which was lead by Mohamad, and the video aspect which was created by Kaelen.  Each “electron” was created with its own artistic approach but one its own could not have existed alone and therefore inlayers would not have been whole.

Overall, I really loved producing this project. It was hard as hell, and I must say the financial aspect of this was the most stressful and difficult. I basically had to be a  “hustler” to make something happen with less than reasonable resources. I walked away feeling really confident as a producer. I made errors for sure but I handled and juggled and balanced and pulled and pushed well. It also helped that I was blessed with an amazing team that all put in major efforts and dedications.

Thank you so much to everyone involved!

With only two rehearsals left before entering the space, the dancers are starting to feel the piece on a deeper level. Taryn has them create one last section of material for an ending, and the group shares where they are at personally before leaving the studio for good.

Video by Kaelen Ohm
Featuring:
Taryn Javier – Choreographer
Jenn Doan – Producer, Dancer
Melina Stinson – Dancer
Pamela Tzeng – Dancer
Simon Portigal – Dancer
Ralph Escamillan – Dancer

The dancers have a ‘breakthrough’ run of the piece after a week of struggling to find a flow in rehearsals. Now that Taryn is “out of the quicksand” she can move forward to finish the piece.
Video by Kaelen Ohm
Featuring:
Taryn Javier – Choreographer
Jenn Doan – Producer, Dancer
Melina Stinson – Dancer
Pamela Tzeng – Dancer
Simon Portigal – Dancer
Ralph Escamillan – Dancer
inlayers.ca

Taryn Javier - Project Creation & Development | Production | Artistic Direction & Choreography

Here are some of my final thoughts on how inlayers – deuxieme partie went.x

It has been a full month since the close of the show and I still feel as though I have not adequately grasped all that has happened. It seems so odd because this project was worked on and talked about a full two years before we began to execute the plans….and still….once it got going it was over in a flash.

I feel like there has not been enough time for me to absorb what happened and reflect adequately. But…I also have a feeling it might be like that for some time for me.

A couple of things happened to me as a choreographer within this process. It was such an interesting way of working because I opened myself up to feedback from the public, all the while encouraging conversation in hopes of affecting the creative process.  I was also lucky enough to have quite a few strong creative heads involved in the physical daily mix of rehearsal.  It was an interesting practice weighing out everyone’s thoughts, opinions and views. I wanted to give equal value to all commentary and question, weigh out where it needed to be placed and act accordingly.  When I write act accordingly, I am saying the choice that was made really needed to be in the direction of what I felt the piece was calling for.

I went through a great deal of doubt and confusion because I knew that the opinions being brought forth from inside and outside of the piece were most definitely valid. It became foggy for me where I was in the piece – that is to say – I wondered at times if I was still making the piece.

I was in a place that seemed to be neither here nor there.  I have taken a lot of time looking back and thinking…oh yes…that is the decision I made…and oh yes….that is what I said or how I felt…or what I thought.

It really was rather crazy. I felt rather crazy!

To add further to this mix, I have noticed that my creative process seems to be going through some sort of a shift. I noticed this a bit with the last piece I did for DSW’s Artist in Residency program but it became more evident to me with this process.  This shift I have been feeling also includes this type of “fogginess” I have described. I found it quite worrisome and I spoke with several friends who have been “playing the choreographers game” longer than I in an effort to understand it.  Although this place I’m in is not exactly what I would call comfortable, I do feel it is because the work and how it is developed or discovered is maturing.  This is encouraging and I feel extremely blessed I was able to have so much artistic stimuli to push this out faster and further.

As for the project as a whole (the webisodes and inclusion of our website) I feel like each thread took on a life of its own and became the work of its master. (Kaelen as the filmmaker and Mo as the Website Designer/Social Media Advisor) It is an interesting practice to see how each person works within their own knowledge and strengths to bring a unique perspective to the project.  I would say each developed their own artistic contribution.

For the inlayers project,  I wanted to reveal the artistic process of a dance piece to the public for several reasons. I wanted to educate the public about contemporary dance.  I wanted to give the participants a chance to see how a movement phrase develops in rehearsal on film. I wanted to give them a greater understanding of why and how those movements came to be through inclusion into artistic discussion on the blogs.  I wanted to show through both the discussions between the artists and the work done in rehearsal, how the artistic process becomes a living organism that each artist involved feeds in order for the piece of work to become what it needs to be. I wanted to show the interacting public through experience what it felt like to be involved in the development of such a piece.  And let us all be honest, weekly episodes, daily discussions….it’s promotion. I wanted to promote our project and to promote contemporary dance by demystifying it a bit.

I feel like attendance at the two final showings of the piece showed us that we reached beyond what was written on the website and the social media outlets.  Our house was quite full both nights. What thrilled me more was that our audience was diverse and people were receptive. The dancers created their moment with absolute strength and conviction and I felt humbled watching them.  The amount of time and work both Mo and Kaelen put in minding their own monsters left me awestruck…and again humbled. Our cast was so very lucky to have the support and advice of Natalie throughout the process.  Jenn’s work as a producer was unremarkable and I feel like we all could see what happens when someone who is thorough and professional takes on a project with passion.  I feel like the show that happened was professional, unique…and strong.

I still have trouble believing it happened! That fog is strong. The thing I find interesting is that I have gone out to a few dance shows since then and have since run into several members of the community. People have reached out to me on a personal level via phone calls or emails.  The show left an impression…and people seemed to really enjoy it. The feedback has been positive. I remember one dancer saying to me she read every single blog entry and she checked inlayers.ca every day.  I asked her why she didn’t respond or write in…..she couldn’t answer that question and said she would.

I feel like letting all of you reading this know….we really want to create a space that is safe for people so we can chat with them here and learn from what they have to say.  Every opinion is valid.  Everyone has something to offer and something can be learned from almost all exchanges. How can we do this? Please feel free to email/facebook message me with suggestions if you do not feel comfortable writing or responding to me here.

….of course ….I strongly encourage you to take the plunge and post here.

<3  Taryn

As the project is just passed half way, Taryn struggles to place each section in the right order. Simon, Jenn and Melina work on a challenging lift and Ralph feels the shift of moving from improv-based work to a more structured rehearsal.

Video by Kaelen Ohm
Featuring:
Taryn Javier – Choreographer
Jenn Doan – Producer, Dancer
Melina Stinson – Dancer
Pamela Tzeng – Dancer
Simon Portigal – Dancer
Ralph Escamillan – Dancer

Pamela Tzeng - Dancer

Looking back at inlayers…

The entire online interactive component of this process was a unique experience and at times overwhelming…in the amount of work and energy it took to conceptualize and define in writing all the resonating feelings, thoughts and questions that were arising during rehearsals. For myself, it turned out to be a great tool in that it enabled (we could also say forced) me to continue to confront my experience of consumption and reflect on subtle unconscious actions at times of emotional resistance to my story.  Audience commentary also facilitated the process as it provided another force or pressure, to peel the surface layers of what we were exploring. Kaelen’s interpretation and documentation of rehearsals gave an alternate perspective to work. I really appreciated the opportunity to visually re-live some of the fleeting moments that were so integral to the development our relationships and evolution of the material.  It helped to ground and further define the work as we went into production week.

Once in the Ant Hill Building, the piece found breath and became easier to journey from beginning to end of the piece. The space became our little world, Kaelen became a fellow organism and interpreting was to just live presently in our stories.  Performing and interacting with the audience on show nights gave a whole other level of information and surprise to the piece – authentic connections with strangers about consumption and curious energy helped to go further into the experience.   Overall I would say that much was achieved in five-weeks, although I feel that we were just ‘getting there’… to a place of potential to get juicier meatier with the work, deeper research and perhaps a dramatic shift in the piece.

It was a blessing to be part of this project and to connect and share with everyone physically involved in the pieces as well as those who contributed our journey online to create SAMEplayer/differentSTORY.

Pamela Tzeng - Dancer

Ever wonder what goes on a dancer’s mind while performing? Pamela tells us what is running through her head during a performance.

-      Question of being cold? Guilt? Regret? Putting people on hold.

-       Close eyes & hands

-       Confessional – Story with light – Jenn – tension in elbows, twitch resist

-       Build up to cross-fade

-       Jenn diagonal, Hit hit hit – Splat

-       Listening… patience, wait.

-       Okay go.

-       Simon across, fix

-       Diagonal, go – cross Jenn  & Simon

-       Ladies

-       Change

-       Feel the light. Simon – tension. Go.

-       Consumption 1, 2,3, 4,5,6

-       Strike… no words.

-       Seclusion… reaching to sense

-       Beckoning – chest compression, flinch & insecurity

-       Simon’s voice. Rough brush. Jenn kisses and attack

-       Stuck on the wall…suffocating. Light.

-       Careful of group, release the chest.

-       Melina, crawls passed with Jenn & Ralph.

-       Simon resent over the shoulder. Pelvis run.

-       Take Simon. Eyes.

-       Cross Melina – giving.

-       Suffocate. Tension grip. Again passing through elbows, shoulders, back. Drop.

-       See the state of space, Simon.

-       Move 1. Hand. Hand hand listening for his hands Ralph. Simon. Move 2..3.

-       Melina,  kisses. The Fix.

-       I lied. Fast . All ears.

-       Game.Last one move to block. Hold her back.

-       Beckon.. emotional assault. Simon, Kaelen light.

-       Focus.. Melina versus Jen & Simon

-       Ralph pulls. Listen to secret. Respond. Many stops.

-       I lost Ralph. Question. You can’t just be like this. Get up. Move.

-       Fists & Runs. Seeing another. Some flocks.

-       Quintet. Mel, Jenn, Simon counter & eyes. Run.. see three-o Ground. X3 & Kaelen flow through rolls.

-       Go for it… tired. Efficiency . Ralph shift – Its important.. No.

-       Diagonals, Air, momentum through. Kaelen.

-       Hand Guestures. Jen. Ralph. Touch shoulder. Melina.

-       Pulling to open..elbow around to float. Reach. See joy. Hit to chest & spiral reach to suspend.. drop bounce bounce. Head leads up the quads to reach lift up. Finger wrists ground.

-       Columns. Simon.

-       Run & take his hand chest. Let go team.

-       Push to clothes. Ralph Ka. Jenn Pop. Under Mel to catch.

-       Simon, up & over.

-       Ralph up. Simon. Melina, Jenn, Simon, Ralph, Melina, Jenn,  Simon, Ralph

-       Carry me.

-       Hang guestures. Eyes, K light. R. M.J. S.K.

With Ralph away, Taryn has the other four dancers take part in more improv where they have to work in the opposite way they are used to. A lot of dialogue is used, and some breakthroughs are made, providing Taryn with some material to link the group sections in the piece.

Video by Kaelen Ohm
Featuring:
Taryn Javier – Choreographer
Jenn Doan – Producer, Dancer
Melina Stinson – Dancer
Pamela Tzeng – Dancer
Simon Portigal – Dancer
Ralph Escamillan – Dancer

The Gauntlet Undergraduate Magazine

A performance that’s labelled an “interactive online reality dance show” may sound like a combination Jersey Shore/Dancing with the Stars-themed video game or something equally nauseating, but Inlayers is, thankfully, not.

Taryn Javier and Jenn Doan are two Canadian artists who thrive off dancing, collaborating and exploring, and their project and performance Inlayers touches on all three through a collision of social media and contemporary dance.

www.thegauntlet.ca