Changing the Scale with Jennifer Monson's BirdBrain Project

For this program I began by interviewing local and regional dancers and choreographers, while I knew that later during the semester I would look into larger-scale environmental dance projects. As I shifted gears from local to more national and international projects, one artist I found was Jennifer Monson. Monson has been working in the field of modern dance since graduating Sarah Lawrence College in 1983 and has presented her work across the US as well as in Latin America, Europe, and Australia. Although I wasn’t able to personally interview Monson for my project, I was able to find a significant amount of information on her work, primarily through online sources. Like many of the other artists I have talked about, Monson works in a modern/contemporary dance style with strong influences from improvisation and contact improvisation and she frequently works collaboratively with other artists such as Zeena Parkins, Kenta Nagai, and Yvonne Meier. From my research I have found that two of Monson’s major projects are directly related to environmental issues: Birdbrain Project and iLand: Interdisciplinary laboratory for art, nature, and dance. I discuss both of this projects in more detail below.

Jennifer Monson has won several awards for her working including a Gunningham Fellowship (2003), a Foundation for Contemporary Performance Art Fellowship (1998), and the New York Foundation for the Arts Artists Fellowship (1989, 1998).

Philosophy and Values

Improvisation, nature, community involvement, music, and collaboration with other artists are all central to Monson’s philosophy and values regarding dance. Several of Monson’s works are based around improvisation, sometimes including contact improvisation. Regarding the ideas of nature and wilderness she states, “Wilderness as a concept seems central to human evolution. Dancing is a powerful medium for addressing our ‘nature’ and is one of the places I experience wildness.” Both Birdbrain Project and iLAND are focused on the exploration of movement in the context of our “natural” environment.

It is clear from Monson’s extensive work with community and educational school programs that she highly values providing non-dancers of all ages with an opportunity to creatively explore movement. Monson believes that the experience of moving oneself is a useful tool for exploring the interconnectivity between self and other; she states “I think of dance as a way of reaching out and touching the world in a quite literal way.”

Monson’s work in a historical context

Monson has explored environmental, political, and social issues through her various projects. Monson states that her work is placed “in the tradition of experimental dance artists starting with the early modern dance pioneers and continuing through to the radical artists spawned in the Judson Church era” (http://ilandsymposium.wordpress.com/). While Monson’s work incorporates many elements of past modern and contemporary choreographers, her work reflects current issues of global interest and concern; topics as broad as our current disconnection from nature, and as specific as the depletion of important aquifers.

iLAND: Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Art, Nature and Dance

Jennifer Monson founded iLand as a non-profit, cross disciplinary “dance research organization that investigates the power of dance, in collaboration with other fields, to illuminate our kinetic understanding of the world.” iLand focuses on the relationships between environmental sustainability, art, and urban landscapes and lifestyles. Through the implementation of  yearly “iLAB residencies” involving researchers from different disciplines, iLand supports the collaboration of scientists, environmentalists, and artists. Since 2009 iLand has hosted annual symposiums that provide opportunity for discussion and research presentations. The most recent iLand residency took place only a week ago and was entitled Moving Into the Out There: Indeterminacy and Improvisation in Performance and Environmental Practice.

To read more about iLAND and this year’s symposium visit the website:

http://ilandsymposium.wordpress.com/symposium/

 Birdbrain Dance: a navigational dance project

Birdbrain Dance was a unique movement project that spanned ten years and investigated migration patterns of whales and birds to create an interdisciplinary experience incorporating both art and science. Monson states, “the project's melding of art with science illuminates the linkages between the natural world's fragile, delicate strength and the creative process” (http://www.birdbraindance.org/about.cfm?id=1). There is a whole website dedicated to this project, which I highly encourage you check out!

Birdbrain Project Website:

http://www.birdbraindance.org/

The project originated with Monson’s idea to follow the migration pathways of different animal species while performing site-specific works along the way. In total, Monson has completed four tours, each based off a different species: Gray whales, Ospreys, Ducks and Geese, and Northern Wheaters. The first tour began in 2001 and the last tour finished in 2010. Each tour consisted of 30 free, site-specific performances incorporating improvisation and community participation. Locations of these community workshops and “site dance” presentations have spanned a huge array of states and countries including Canada, Texas, Maine, California, Mexico, Europe, Cuba, West Africa, and the Artic.

I found this project interesting and different from any of the other environmental dance projects I have looked at this semester, although certainly there are still many similar themes emerging such as improvisation, community, and site-specific work. What I found unique about Birdbrain Project was the fact that Monson carefully studied the migration patterns of these animals, and then not only created her movement through an abstraction of how the animals move, but also performed her dances on the same pathway that the animals take to migrate across the globe. I imagine that when a human is taking this path, and one can see how difficult of a path it is, it gives people a true appreciation for animal migration and the intelligence and endurance that it requires.

Because I haven’t seen any of Birdbrain Project live I can’t speak from personal experience as an audience member or participant, but I believe that the idea behind this project is a simple and beautiful way to better understand and appreciate some of the other animals that we share the Earth. By looking at the lives of these animals through movement, travel, and dance, it provides a perspective that is more meaningful than simply learning the same facts through a textbook.

Middlebury Professor Andrea Olsen teaches about fear, art-making, body, and Earth

Last weekend I attended the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA) Northeast regional conference at Penn State University. It was an incredible and jam-packed four days! In addition to taking three daily classes and watching performances every night, I had the opportunity to present a work of solo choreography I created this semester. One of the guest artists I took class with at the conference was Andrea Olsen, professor of Dance and Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, in Middlebury, Vermont.

When I began my project at the beginning of this semester I ordered Andrea’s book Body and Earth, An Experiential Guide. I found her book by Googling “environment and dance”; at the time I had no idea that I would get to take class with the author only a few months later. I recently found out that Andrea teaches a semester-long course at Middlebury entitled Body and Earth, which is based off her book of the same title. Andrea Olsen also wrote an earlier text entitled Bodystories, A Guide to Experiential Anatomy, and she currently working on her third book.

Andrea Olsen: “Moving from Fear to the Sublime: Art Making and the Environment”

I was able to take both classes that Andrea taught at ACDFA; one class was about the nervous system and dance, while the other was entitled “Moving from Fear to the Sublime” and involved lecture, discussion, movement improvisation, and self-reflection. During my Google search early in the semester, I also came across a video of a presentation that Andrea Olsen gave; it turns out it was the same speech she gave during one of the classes I took!

I highly recommend checking out her presentation. After watching the video several times at the beginning of the semester, watching her give the presentation live at ACDFA, and re-watching the video upon my return to campus, I am still getting something new out of it with every view.

Andrea Olsen, From Fear to the Sublime: Art Making and the Environment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmw2ZbLV-Hc

Environment, perception, dance, and emotional health

After taking class with Andrea at ACDFA I had the opportunity to chat with her for a few minutes about her personal experiences with the environment and dance. Andrea told me that her work is based off the knowledge that the body is a part of the environment. She stated, “we need to understand perception better---that’s how I most see dance and the environment relating.” I saw this statement as closely linked to a lot of what Hilary Lake talked about during her interview regarding the relationship between kinesthetic and environmental awareness.

Andrea also made the connection that statistics won’t “change people’s hearts, but art can create caring”—the same conclusion I ended with in my last entry! She stated that her course Body and Earth focuses on grounding yourself and finding your literal voice. (Yes, as in the one that comes from your vocal chords. No metaphor here.) She emphasized how important speaking about your values is when working in environmental advocacy, and that everyone who hopes to go into environmental activism should practice public speaking.

Andrea made another interesting connection between arts/dance and environmental issues that I had not occurred to me: if you study environmental problems, you realize it is really depressing; it can be emotionally draining to work in the environmental field. Because of that, it is important to train people in creative expression. Dance—and art in general—is a way to process our environment differently than simply learning the facts. She used a quote from environmentalist Martha Murray who stated, “If you want to save the environment, you better learn to dance!”

Body and Earth: An Experiential Guide

In Body and Earth Andrea emphasizes finding connections of all kinds. The book is written as an exploration guide comprised mainly of movement and writing exercises organized into 31 days. These exercises aim to assist the reader in gaining deeper self-knowledge and with that, deeper environmental awareness.

In the preface to this text Bill McKibben states,

“We’ve spent the last fifty years in a consumer fantasy world, ever more disconnected from neighbor, from work, from our own bodies. This has caused myriad problems: the pervasive sadness that goes with the loss of community… even the alienation from the body—and hence the spirit—that comes from spending every hour in front of some screen or another… [We need people who] can feel the richness that comes from practices like the one described herein and hence have little need of the riches laid out at the shopping mall.”

With this quote I found yet another way to connect dance and environmental sustainability; by knowing the fulfilling “richness” that dance provides through individual kinesthetic awareness, creative expression, and finding meaningful connections with others, perhaps as individuals we won’t feel the need to place the ownership of more and more “things” high on our priority lists in an attempt to find a sense of fulfillment in our lives. Of course this can apply to other arts as well, but I see dance as being unique because it involves both individual creative expression the benefits of participating in a fully embodied activity.

Missy Pfohl Smith discusses her inspiration for environmental choreography

Last week in addition to interviewing Hilary Lake from Earthdance, I also had the opportunity to interview Missy Pfohl Smith, artistic director of the company BIODANCE, which is based in Rochester, NY. I had met Missy in 2010 when she was teaching at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and I have since had the opportunity to see her company perform several times.

Before continuing to read, you might be interested in checking out the BIODANCE website:

 http://biodance.org/

BIODANCE facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BIODANCE/268495226558

During our conversation Missy identified three specific choreographed works that she considers closely to be based on environmental issues: Guzzle! EXCESS, and I.T. (as in Information Technology). All three of these works are usually performed on a traditional stage, as opposed to in an outside space or a different, more casual performance space.

Missy stated that EXCESS is based off the ideas of over-consumption, accumulation, and clutter. EXCESS included projected images of garbage onto the stage, most of which could have been recycled but was not. Missy stated “In EXCESS it wasn’t about pointing fingers for who’s to blame—it was more about taking responsibility, and that we all need to take responsibility. Look what we have all done.”

Although the starting point of Guzzle! was looking specifically at oil consumption, the theme of that piece transformed to encompass the idea of our culture’s obsession with mass consumption. Missy used different metaphors in Guzzle! to portray her ideas; one example was a scene with a horse race, where the 5 competitors are representing the 5 big oil companies.

 EXCESS and Guzzle! both focused on the general theme of consumption of resources, but addressed the issue in different ways. However, I.T. is based around a very different theme: the ideas of technology and society. Missy described to me her inspiration for creating the work I.T.:

“Technology is slowly and surely separating us from nature. So for me it’s very environmental because it’s bringing us physically inside; we focus on screens as opposed to being in parks... We have lost awareness, whereas in the past people were much more connected with each other and with the environment. Now we are completely disconnected in every way; even though it wasn’t overtly related to the environment, it actually really was. Did everyone in the audience connect with that? No, I don’t think so, but that’s ok.”

Missy hopes that by creating environmentally based works she is promoting an increased level of awareness, but she informed me that she isn’t trying to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do. She stated, “the point is when we can, we make choices that are local, and when we can make choices that require less energy, and that’s good. I’m not trying to reprimand people. I just like the conversation to be alive.”

I realized that in all of my interviews to date each artist has mentioned that they are consciously making an effort not to reprimand people, or tell their audience what is right and wrong (although of course each interviewee has phrased this slightly differently). Environmental issues are extremely interdisciplinary and complex, and all of the choreographers and dancers I have talked to realize this complexity. In my experience so far, none of the environmental dance I have encountered is portraying a black and white image—which would inevitably result in an uncomfortable and unsupportive portion of the audience—but rather the work is about instigating awareness and conversation.

I also think that making environmental art in any medium is valuable because it can bring emotion and passion to information that would otherwise be viewed only as cold, factual data. Although environmental data and statistics are invaluable, most people have a difficult time connecting to this data on a personal level. That is where dance comes in!

Interview with Earthdance's Hilary Lake: somatic practices help increase environmental awareness

This past week I had the opportunity to interview Hilary Lake, who works at Earthdance in Plainfield, Massachusetts. Earthdance is a dance retreat center that has a strong focus on improvisation, and in particular in a dance form called contact improvisation.[1] This past January I had the chance to attend a contact improvisation class and jam session in one of the beautiful Earthdance studios; it was a wonderful and entirely new experience for me. At the time I didn’t have the chance to talk in-depth with any of the Earthdance volunteers or employees, but I was fascinated by the idea of a dance retreat center focused on environmental sustainability—what a perfect fit for me!

For more information about Earthdance, events, and retreats, please explore the website:

http://www.earthdance.net/

The Earthdance website states “Earthdance cultivates dance and the art of improvisation. Through experiential learning and creative exchange, we strengthen connections between people, communities, and the earth.” [2]On the same page ten core values of Earthdance are listed: dance, improvisation, contact improvisation, community, embodied intelligence, ecology, artist-run, cultural exchange, access, local community, and social justice.

Hilary has been working as Office Manager for Earthdance almost a year. When I asked Hilary how she would define Earthdance to someone who had never heard of the organization before, she stated:

“It’s a retreat center for experimentation with improvisation that focuses [primarily on] dance. Or maybe saying somatic practices, rather than dance, is a good way to put it. Earthdance also is really committed to being a steward of the natural environment, and helping people to cultivate their relationship with the natural world… by going deeper into ones own body one is then becoming more connected and aware of ones relationship with the natural environment.”

I am interested in investigating the Earth part of Earthdance; how do those working and living at Earthdance see dance and the environment as connected? Because I know that Earthdance focuses on contact improvisation, I asked Hilary to elaborate about her personal experiences regarding how contact improvisation might be connected to environmental issues, which she was more than happy to share with me:

“My own personal experience of doing contact improvisation allows me to be more in touch… to literally not have a separation between my inner experience and my outer experience so my body and mind are really acting as one… There are not really boundaries about what is accepted and what is not accepted, or how you interact with a person, or how you’re supposed to do the dance. Yet there is still a sense of technique… You are really allowing yourself just to react in an authentic way, without judging it without stopping yourself or redirecting it for any particular reason.

That then is allowing one to be more in touch with the kind of animalistic natures that we have that has helped us to survive but that we don’t often need anymore in our society, we end up pushing down because their really not acceptable. As a result there’s all the energy that we’re not using that’s being used against us. In order to access it we actually have to allow it to move through us in some way, whether that’s by expressing emotions in an extreme way, or its by dancing wildly, which can be an emotional release… and I think meditation also allows one to focus more intense energies.

Once you can have that kind of release, then you can have more subtle awareness of your own experience and relationship with either other people or with the environment around you. Dance isn’t just about me and me being in a relationship: when I dance I don’t feel like there’s a separation between the natural environment and myself. And that includes the people that are in the room, and somehow I feel like I am not just expressing for myself but I’m expressing for the place that I’m dancing in.”

I love that Hilary pointed out how dance can be used as a tool for self-understanding and how connecting to ones own emotions in an embodied way is often an enlightening experience. As I mentioned before in previous entries, it is my personal opinion that most of our society is living in their heads and could greatly benefit from more daily embodied experiences. After all, our bodies and our minds are inseparable! I look forward to talking to others from the Earthdance community and I hope I’ll have a chance to attend another contact improvisation workshop at Earthdance again soon.

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[1] For more information on the definition and history of contact improvisation: http://www.contactquarterly.com/contact-improvisation/about/