One more week

Written by: Vanessa | 21 July, 2009 | 0 Comments | Make A Comment | Share on Facebook

Recently a friend told me that when Frederick Ashton was asked how long it took to make a ballet he answered, "One more week". We have just finished our first block of time making Push, and if we were asked the same question we would use Sir Fred's response. The process was intense and demanding. We're left wondering why we finished feeling we needed one more week. Is that just the nature of making work? Because you can always refine sections is it to be expected that more time would benefit all creative periods? Or is it something else?

We think the main reason Push felt like it could use more studio time is because elements of the process took longer than anticipated. We now have a beautiful bamboo set that is light and that we can assemble, disassemble and transport ourselves. However, the set design continued to evolve once we were in the studio and our first few performances took considerably more hands and time to do the get-in than we had hoped. It has taken a few drafts of technical plans to solidify the best get-in technique. Additionally, the set is held together by rope lashings that we have had to learn through practise. We simply didn't have the time to practise assembling and disassembling the set in our studio time, so we have been learning on performance days. Fortunately, performances have fallen on delightfully hot days, making it easy to assemble the set outside. An extra week (or 2 or 3) would have definitely aided these technical considerations.

It also took us longer to make material on the set than we expected. A new MacBook has gained the prize for being the most useful new tool in our process. Imovie has served as an invaluable outside eye. We found it hard to be clear and confident in choreographic choices because we were on the inside. This process has reminded us how important it is to have an outside eye. Kerry Nicholls offered incredibly helpful mentoring. We feel more time with an outside eye/mentor would only benefit the piece.

The final factor that left us wanting 'one more week' for our process was that we were utterly consumed by having to do our own administration. After long days in the studio we would get home only to review the work, plan the next day, write copy, biogs, select images for flyers etc. It filled every second out of the studio, and every inch of our brains.

The irony of all this is that one of the main themes of Push was the idea that the things that hold us back can be the very things that push us forward! This process has indeed tested the truth of that idea.

We are grateful to have had support from ACE and DanceXchange. They made the process possible. The DX staff couldn't have been any more supportive if they'd tried.

Making work should surely make us more kind with anyone else who makes work. As Plutarch said, "To find a fault is easy; to do better may be difficult". And so it is.
I'm aware that when someone gives their opinion on a piece of work it takes a few seconds for them to summarise their thoughts on the piece. Almost funny considering how long it takes to develop a piece.

Push is just one version of the many pieces that could be made on our new set. Maybe there will be an opportunity in the future to make another piece on it. But not now. Another time. When we have time, plus 'one more week'.

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