Sept. 17 - Talk back after 5:30 Show

Laura Diffenderfer: Can one of the dancers talk about the moment where you get really quiet in the beginning? Was that intentional?

Dancer: Yes, we gradually raised our voices. That happens naturally in any group setting, if other people begin to get louder then you start you talk louder - So we did that intentionally, then we sort of drop our voices down.

Audience: The people that were talking so loud just stopped and then we started speaking softer in a whisper

A: It was absolutely quiet wasn’t it?

A: It was sort of like chanting, the sacred moment where everything came to fruition and then it stops and you hold the space

A: I felt invited to participate as soon as I couldn’t tell who was officially in the piece, so when you (points) laid down and I thought okay, she has kind of a stylized dress, but I don’t think she’s a dancer, but she could be, and well perhaps I am the same, so I lied down. And actually,.

A: I didn’t lie down, but I was standing among them

A: And then she started laughing and that’s when I felt like I didn’t know who was on the inside and who was on the outside and so I thought, okay I could be on either side - so I laid down.

A: Interesting combination of us an them, from a dyad to a group I’d like to see more of a A triad, and most of our world is based on a dyad, yes no up down so it’d be interesting to have the 3 groups

A: I loved the moment where we were all sitting and suddenly I looked at people and saw people, and saw people and openness when we all sat, we were all at the same level, it was great

Noemie Lafrance: It was the only moment we got participation last week was the lowering down, and feedback after was that they liked that moment when touched and so I decided to keep it and move forward with that concept.

A: I did notice that I never felt ignored by the people in the piece, and not be courted.

A: Just at the end – when there was no way to participate

A: I couldn’t join that – even if I tried…

LD: Noemie and I spoke before the performance - The feeling some people had in last week’s performance, was that they wanted to rebel, Did anyone feel that way? and dancers how was it to have an audience who wanted to be included and a part of the piece?

A: I felt it was a piece about examination of power and movement, and I had moments where I said I’m not doing this, not to be contradictory but there are moments where I didn’t want to follow all the time,

A: Setting up the ride was divisive, by excluding other people because only some people got to go on the ride and it was like ‘oh, I want to go on the ride’ or ‘eh I don’t need to go on the ride’

A: The walking back and forth with the words on the side – you had to jump in, I call it the ‘ride’

D: Oh, the L… We call that part the L.

A: I was told oh, you have to go and meet someone by the window, so I said okay – but I didn’t know who I was meeting by the window so I started introducing myself to random people, like William, and then he was confused and didn’t know – neither of us knew who was in on it or not.

A: I’d be interested in finding out how one might be more invited and participate because the idea is that everyone participates in someway, right?, and so the association between the audience and performer is almost indistinguishable at some points.

NL: Yes, and I was wondering if you wanted to add something to the piece, do you have an aesthetic input that you want to add or the idea or you actually did it in certain moments?

A: I was enjoying stillness and moving, I liked the change that allowed me to break. I would further investigate the stillness vs. moving

A: The text vs. silence, was there a when people where walking, was there a motivation behind what people said ‘Hi nice to meet you or I like grilled cheese sandwiches, was there a certain? Because I liked the quiet moments, rather than using text. I enjoyed being able to communicate with others without using words.

A: Were those words given to the dancers? But they started off saying something…?

NL: We gave them the option; but the point is you have to find 5 words, but if you can’t find the words then we will give them to you.

A: I wanted to be invited to join the documentary part of the performance because you had the camera and I didn’t know who was in on it – and at a point the guy with the gray facial hair said ‘sir, I’m going to need you to move faster’ and I thought it was coming from the guy upstairs. I realized, oh there’s a whole separate component to the group that’s documenting. And I wanted to be given a mike or something and asked to join and go up there and hold a light reflector.

A: I wanted to be given permission when it was the talking section to ask other audience members to join in, because it was only the people that were asked and so it became like these 3 groups, the dancers, the audience that was asked and the watchers.

A: It’s easier to join the movement.

NL: Yes, at that point you’re excluded, if you didn’t get the secret then you’re excluded, but that’s good. I found it interesting during the party where they all come forward saying ‘entering and withdraw’ normally all the audience is over there and we move through and make lines out of you – we call it ‘combing’ and because you were so enthralled you were all following and so it was strange and I realized ‘wow, something has really changed.’

A: Did anyone have thoughts on the good part of participating vs. the military feeling when walking around the wall, and I thought maybe I should choose not to participate.

A: I liked the more dynamic aspect – the walking back and forth didn’t appeal to me, the dynamic appeal of movement

A: When people began to sit on the floor – I thought were going to play ‘duck, duck, goose’

A: It was great as an audience member to have that choice of when to participate – when everyone was walking back and forth I chose to walk straight across so I could hear what people are saying. And I didn’t have a secret, so I tried to hear as many as I could. Also, for the L walking part - I wasn’t close to the participation zone, so I took a moment to watch what happened with the bodies, and thought, okay I’m here to see dance and it was nice to have the moment of not having to participate. Maybe other nights had more moments? But today because it was super participatory there weren’t as many moments to watch the bodies move. And it was great choose how you view the show.

A: It felt like a huge game to me, where the rules kept getting messed up and changing. Some people were upset that were excluded, but I loved those moments because you had periods where anyone could join or you had to be invited, and it created a dichotomy between the two. I liked the game theory.

A: I liked when people lied on the ground and it was quiet and strange and it felt like still images, and a strange contrast because I didn’t get in the L either so I got to stand back and watch again. I thought that was the prettiest part. And the lying down.

A: Maybe, if you gave out brochures or envelopes that said don’t open this until someone comes up to you...then nobody knows what I have and I’m special, and won’t open it until a dancer comes up to you, and inside can be lines of script.

NL: That’s a great idea.