Instinct Isn't the Absence of Skill

Apparently some people think I'm either out of my mind and need medication, or I'm on drugs — otherwise I couldn't come up with these performance dance reels. It's suggesting that the person dancing doesn't know what they're doing, that you'd have to be a little mad to move like that, to create like that.

"Are you out of your mind" is a funny phrase, when you actually look at it.

Maybe if, in this context, I'm out of my normal analysing mind — where most of us spend far too much time trying to figure things out — then I'm in my body. Fully. What a sin.

So let me let you in on a secret: just because I use improvisation and instinct to create doesn't mean I'm not intentional, or that I haven't got a clue what I'm doing.

Improvisation is a tool, and I'm making choices with it — in the dance reels, and in all of my work. They just show up in different proportions depending on the piece, depending on my agenda. Don't be fooled into thinking instinct-based work — the Lecoq Approach, improvisation, anything built on impulse — doesn't have its own skill sets, ones that need to be studied and trained like any other craft. Improvisation isn't something you can either do or not, by accident. It has its own approaches and schools of thought, the same way art has its own subcategories.

Here's what that actually looks like in practice, for the dance reels specifically.

I look for a song that either matches my emotional state or contrasts it. Once I've found it, I choose an outfit that brings a certain quality to the performance — sometimes supportive of the song, sometimes matching it directly. Then I put the music on my laptop and film with my iPhone at the same time. Sometimes I dance to a random part of the song, sometimes I choose the minute beforehand.

What matters is that I'm either trying out movements I find interesting in the moment, or letting my body be taken by the music, or working with the space, or asking myself, "what if I go slow when the music is fast," or whatever else feels interesting to me right then. I usually do about three takes. Nothing is really preconceived, though I might try out an idea or two going in.

And then I edit. That's where I become the director of my own performance — choosing the bits that are compelling, or that fit the story I'm telling, which might be as simple as an emotional one.

It's not about perfection. It's about something that feels complete, in sync. I'm not afraid to cut a moment that was technically good if it doesn't fit the narrative, and keep an awkward one instead, because the awkward one makes sense in context.

So even though I'm using improvisation and instinct to create these reels, I'm intentional about it at the same time.

For the record, most improvisers are — intentional and exploring, simultaneously.

I don't think you could do this on drugs. But maybe you can. I've never been, so I honestly couldn't say.