The Inside Scoop -- Subluxation -- Part 4

A LITTLE BIT OF NEW MUSIC
by Nicole Harris

For the record, I am a lucky woman.  I have a number of friends who are fabulous musicians (which is pretty fabulous) but even better than that, I have a number of friends who are fabulous musicians and supporters of dance.

When I first choreographed Subluxation in 2006 there were two pieces of music, Devil's Airship by Pinataland and my first ever "commission", Summertime by Bill Swan.  When I started to re-invent Subluxation for the Green Street Studios Emerging Artists Program this winter it needed a little bit of a musical overhaul as well.  The original solo (which you will be able to see at Monkeyhouse's Against the Odds at Springstep this Spring!) will still use those two pieces of music but this new version includes two new pieces in addition to Pinataland's Devil's Airship.

In 2008 I started building a duet called Fidelius (read a bit about that here!) and commissioned my friend David Wechsler of Tyranny of Dave (also from Pinataland!) to record Cole Porter's Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love).  After many recreations that track fell to the wayside (but it was replaced by another David Wechsler song!) where it sat lonely and neglected until, you guessed it, I started using it in rehearsals this fall.

The final piece of music was just added today, thanks to my ever generous friend Nicholas Zampiello.  I am very excited to announce that we will be using the Campaign for Real-Time's Shout as our final track!  (I have tried to make a few other pieces using this track so I'm so excited that it has finally found a home!)

psst...  There just might be another track by Mr. Zampiello in a new piece I am working on too!  2011 is going to be a great year for new choreography!

 ** This post was re-posted from http://GSSEmergingArtists.blogspot.com **

Nicole Harris' Newest Duet

by karen Krolak

As most of you know, Nicole Harris and I have been hammering out work together for the last decade. When she relocated to New York City in 2007, I was quite curious to see how that would influence her creativity. She will debuting a duet, Fidelius, at ArtBeat in Somerville, MA. While it is currently set on Caitlin Meehan and Nikki Sao Pedro, it has been shaped by outside dancers and steeped in the Big Apple. This seemed like an ideal moment to turn our interviewing process inward and explore the evolution of this fabulous piece.

karen Krolak: It is difficult for me to pinpoint when exactly you launched into developing Fidelius?

Nicole Harris: I started playing with the ideas about two years ago. I knew the basic concepts I wanted to work with. Thanks to many Sunday morning rehearsals with Shane Rutkowski (who I paid mostly in baked goods), I got to put together decent sized chunks of movement and a basic framework for the characters and their relationship.

kK: I know that it has been through many permutations but what was the original idea?

NH: I set a goal for myself to create a duet for a man and a woman which is something I had never done before. Beyond that, all I knew was that I wanted to deal with the idea of trust. What is trust? Who do you trust? What does it take to trust someone? How do you go about regaining trust once it is lost? What is the difference between the trust you have in another person and the trust you have in yourself?

kK: When did you add the music in?
NH: From the very beginning I had been using a series of songs off David Wechsler's then relatively new album "Vacations" during rehearsals. The piece has gone through many pairings of dancers and the music changed as the dancers changed. At some point the piece was about a romantic relationship and I commissioned David to record Cole Porter's "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" to use in conjunction with his "Salt of the Earth". When I began setting the piece on Nikki and Caitlin for the version being shown at Art Beat on July 17th, I changed my mind again. Luckily, David is more than generous and gave me permission to use both "Salt of the Earth" and "Roman Road" for the final version. (Don't worry, I'll be using his "Fall in Love" for a new piece in the future! Also, check out his new album The Decline of America Part I: The Bush Years for FREE! Tell your friends!)

kK: So, what caused you to switch the duet to being about two women?

NH: Originally I began teaching Ashley Chandler the part I had been dancing because I felt that she and Shane had very complimentary movement styles. Due to scheduling conflicts Shane was no longer able to rehearse, so I stepped back in and began dancing in Shane's part.

kK: How did it change when you started working with Ashley Chandler?

NH: Well, first off, my goal of creating a duet for a man and a woman was no longer being met. I have started others since then. Also, despite the almost identical movement phrases, things are read differently when they take place between two women than they do between a man and a woman, no matter what the relationship is.

kK: Can you give an example?

NH: The first image in the piece is of the two characters counter-balancing and almost immediately one lets go and leaves which causes the other to fall to the floor. While it was never my intention, having a man drop a woman can very easily be seen as excessively violent or abusive. Somehow when done by two women it isn't seen with the same aggression. People have different associations with each gender and their relationship to each other.

kK: When you and I were performing in the Cool New York Festival in 2009, you asked me to atttend and informal showing with Lynn Schwab. How did people's feedback assist you with the piece?

NH: Ashley and I had been focusing primarily on getting comfortable with the movement vocabulary by the time we showed the piece to you, Lynn Schwab and Kay Wilson. While I had a good idea of how the characters developed, the comments helped clarify what we could be doing as performers to further the story and pointed out places that the movement counteracted what we were trying to say.

kK: I am so excited that it is finally being realized in front of an audience.

C2C, Episode Two!

For those of you who haven't heard, Monkeyhouse has a new television show (C2C) on S.C.A.T. tv in Somerville. (That's Channel 3 for all you Somerville residents!) Our latest episode, which focuses on building a movement vocabulary, is up and ready for watching!



Extra special thanks to S.C.A.T. & Bill Barrell, Caitlin Meehan, Uncle Monsterface and David Wechsler! Monkeyhouse Loves You!

Catching up with Monkeyhouse's Nicole Harris

By Nicole Harris

There have been a lot of changes going on in and around Monkeyhouse since And What Do You Want?. It's hard for me to believe that it has been eighteen months (!!) since all four Monkeys were together on stage. Reading all of Karen's adventures and shenanigans from her sabbatical made me take a look at my own escapades for the last year and a half.

I moved to New York City last summer. There were a lot of things that went into my choice to leave Boston, the largest of which being the chance to study more extensively with Derick Grant. I've also been taking classes with Max Stone, Lynn Schwab, Karen Gayle and a number of other people in the city. In addition to developing some new work involving former Monkeyhouse intern Ashley Chandler and music by Pinataland's David Wechsler, this summer I performed with a tap company at the Edmonton Fringe Festival.

I've been trying to see as much dance in the city as possible, including A Quarreling Pair by Bill T. Jones, ShowDown by David Parker and The Bang Group, and next weekend I'll be at the return of Doug Elkins' Fraulein Maria (with an appearance by David Parker! It's really fantastic and everyone in the New York area should check it out!) at Joe's Pub.

Despite all the excitement of living in the Big Apple, I am thrilled to be performing with Monkeyhouse in First Night, and to have Monkeyhouse visiting New York for the Cool New York Festival this winter. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you on New Years!