Choreography & Improvisation

I realized that both choreography and improvisation exist as the means to reveal the essential qualities behind the movements.

I have been thinking that both are related to each other as the yin yang concept. Their nature has opposite characters: one set and the other not. They are origin of each other: choreography is generated from improvisation and improvisation happens after the maturity/repetition of choreography as developed form. They contain the essence of one another: choreography cannot avoid containing essence of improvisation and vise versa. Both exist as a whole for creative means balancing and based on each other.

Choreography is the mean which makes us capable to keep the ways to reveal the found essential qualities. A lot of choreographers creatively have their own ways to keep their instinct and given movements in the moments. Memory functions largely to realize this keeping activity.

Improvisation is the free-spirited activity. It is sometimes done to cast out new movements for choreography or used in or overlapped with choreography. Yet, the ephemeral nature and destiny is more distinctive than choreographic activity and its own character is cherished because of the supreme representation as the fact of being. Improvisation gives us opportunities to encounter the world of unconsciousness. That is why choreographers initiate their creative process from improvising to dig out and sample the hidden unconscious materials for composition.

Dance is art of movement. When the truth behind is revealed, that is the moment of Eureka, which gives us an opportunity to sense and reach the fundamental quality of being.

I just noticed that all of us, dance artists, are striving to express the essential qualities behind what we want to express and when we encounter someone who are good at it, people call him or her genius.

Ayako

From J.S. Bach on Valentine's Day

I encountered two volumes of books titled "J.S. Bach" today by Albert Schweitzer at a second-hand book store near the corner of Clark and Sheffield.

The book starts, "Some artists are subjective, some objective." And he says, the former type was Richard Wagner and and the later type was Bach.  The author tells us, "The art of objective artist is not impersonal, but superpersonal."

Then I thought, "I am trying to depict objective perspective from subjective matter and subjective matter from objective perspective to express the universality laying behind." I am in a way applying the fractal theory which  the exactly or approximately similar shape of parts are constructing the larger whole which has the same shape made from the parts. 

In that sense, I understand what the writer wants to say by superpersonal must be about Bach's holistic perspective which sounds that the music applies for every personal or subjective aspects of religion, nature, music, human beings, emotion and even physics. 

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Behind the story...

I stopped by a secondhand book store near the corner of Sheffield and Clark. Without having any intension to look for anything. Yet I might have had certain hope to encounter something interesting. Usually, I end up going in front of the Buddhism and Taoism thoughts section. However, when I stood in front of the shelf believing it is the one, I saw music related books.

"Classical music, Mozart, yes Mozart..."

My mind and eyes started to search "Bach" under "B."

"Beethoven, yes Beethoven..."

My eyes was chasing after "B" on the newer cover, yet all of sudden, the things which grasped my eyes were the two tinted books of titled, "J.S. Bach." I reached and it was by Albert Schweitzer. 

Coming from Japan, when I see something in English writing, it take some time for me to understand who it is or what it is, even though the name is familiar to me in Japanese writing.

"Albert Schweitzer...sounds familiar..."

I opened the contents and looked through. Yes. It was the book which was mentioning not about his life, but about his music and artistry. 

It said $25, and then I thought it's two books...so it will be $50. Too expensive. However, I have bitter experience of not getting the book I was interested in because I decided to wait for a week. To decide whether I really should get these, I started to read more content.

Then, a person stood next to me, asked a question. "Does it look interesting?"

It is so rare that you get to be talked by someone in the small bookstore. Maybe at any bookstore in general. "I am trying to figure it out now," I answered.  I sensed that these books will be gone if I return these to the book shelf again and I will never encounter the "J.S. Bach" books in my life. (Yes...when I don't have any memo tools, I cannot completely remember to spell the author's name correctly other than when the name is very simple in this country.)

I decided to get them. After that, the person still followed me later and asked me about the content. "Is it about Bach's life or about his music?" I said, "It's more like philosophy...," showing some pages from the book. Such a bad lady I am!

Later at home, I looked up " Albert Schweitzer" and I understand it was the "Shubaitzar (we pronounce like this in Japan)" whom I have heard.

This must be certainly the Valentine's day gift from J.S. Bach or Schweitzer who know the fact of how much I love the music.

Ayako