A movement game for several performers: Ira Ferris w/ Ryuichi Fujimura, Lian Loke, Maddy Backen, Kristina Mah, Elly Brickhill. Plus, Gideon Payten-Griffiths. Performed at DRAW Space (Sydney), 6 January 2025. With live sound by Andrea Lim.

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(RE) – GENERAL NOTES

• Movement style: predominately geometrical (lines); no narrative or expression; pure form

• The gaze is sharp and focused; eyes mechanical extensions of the position of the head

• “the diamond” in the table is the demarcated square space we are moving in; it is roughly 3.1m on each side

• Relationship to the music = mismatch. The music will be dropping in and out, with unexpected pockets of silence as well as changes in sound; movement and music are not meant to sync.

• The game has three distinct sections and there are three different sets of ‘RE’ cards – the cards provide a palette for the movement; adding layers.

The (RE) game diagram with a detailed description of game sections and space arrangement.

(RE) PILLARS

Movement style:

• Predominately geometrical (lines); no narrative or expression; pure form

• The movements should feel more pedestrian than stylised. General aesthetic: postmodernism.

• Adjust the movement range to various body types

• Involve performers of different ages and movement styles / ranges. The amount of performers involved should be so to create a sense of movement density in the space (almost so it feels like there are more performers than the audience). A sense of crowdedness.

• When moving, consider different levels (lower to the ground or higher up), directions, etc.

• “Like a shopping list, the movements feel non-consequential and non-matching”. Sporadic addition of movements one on top of the other, not the logic sequence. Changes.

• No narrative or emotion, no expression. Movement does not represent anything.

• Gaze is focused and sharp, eyes mechanical extension of the position of the head

• Interactions and relations between the bodies (RESPOND & RELATE) – proximities and distances – layering of forms, lines; a sense of 3D drawing

• The overarching RE word is ‘response’ in that we are responding constantly

• The cards are adding layers to the movements, as each performer also takes on the movement languages of the other performers (in the Section 2 in particular)

• Rhythm: steady for the first 15 min then more arhythmical once the cards are picked

• Constancy of action, movement, is a preference. The rest is there only if the cards indicate it. Of course, the performer could choose the intensity of their actions so they can manage their energy.

• The function of duration (cca 2 hours) is so that different layers, energies, formations, ideas could emerge

The game/ the cards:

• The game has three distinct sections and there are three different sets of ‘RE’ cards. Each card contains one RE-word.  

• The first two sections are played by 6 performers + the musician. The third and final section is played by 7 performers + the musician. The 7th performer has been sitting in the audience for the first two sections (90min) and enters the game in the last 30min (perhaps to audience’s surprise). Notes for the 7th performer.

• The first set of cards (Section #1) is more oriented towards responding to your own movement. The second set (Section #2) is one-on-one or two-on-one response; you are directly responding to an indicated performer in ‘the diamond’. The third set (Section #3) is a combination of those with the added extension to the outside space (breaking the 4th wall now that the 7th performer joined the game).

• The cards provide a palette for the movement; the movement inspiration/instruction/layer. The cards focus the attention in a particular direction. They may affect the rhythm or pace.

• The picked card/word could be enacted in response to a fellow dancer, the space, the audience, the light, the sound, the heat, yourself, … It can be interpreted in anyway one wishes. But you don’t need to be smart with it, use it in its simplest meaning.

• Commit to an action; persist with a card even if it starts getting boring or you feel like you have exhausted the possibilities (aim for at least 5-8 min). Extend its potential.

• Cards will add variety to the movements but eventually bounce back to the geometry (lines) as your underlying or core movement language

• The structure of the movement (before the score given by the card) is geometric. Once the card is picked that structure can loosen. For instance, if you pick the card ‘RELEASE’ you could release the shape into more fluidity. But eventually, return to the geometry and form. Continue thinking of your body as a line that draws shapes in the space – this is a 3D canvas we are drawing on.

• The cards create more opportunities for the modulations of energy and changes in rhythm (pauses, high speeds, slowness). More speed variety and rhythm dynamic is introduced once the cards are picked.

• Observational RESTING: if the ‘REST” card is picked, the resting should be done in ‘the diamond’, staying in the game and maintaining the observational attention on it

• All reactions and responses should be enacted by the body/its form, not through theatrical expression

• Aspects of the game: chance, endurance, level of difficulty

The diamond:

• A demarcated square space we are moving in. It is roughly 3.1m on each side.

• Performers should move both in the middle of the space and on its edges

• It provides a sense of an inside and outside space

• In different sections of the game, we are navigating a number of performers allowed to be inside and outside ‘the diamond’

• Walk out of the square (and back in) with a clear and simple walk (no dancing out and in). When you need to exit or enter (i.e. to maintain the number), do this with no panic or rush.

The music:

• The musician does not rehearse with the dancers and is not fully across their game structure

• Music/sound is independent from the movement. The sound does not try to interpret the dance. It is pursuing its own ‘trajectory’. 

• The musician has their own set of RE cards and is also picking them up during the performance, in a way decided by them. Their set of RE cards consists a combination of words that produce different intensities; ie some words are more energetic, and some allow for the rest time.

• Times of rest exits, when music goes to complete ‘silence’. This rest is still an active state. Cards such as REJECT, RESIST, REFUSE can all lead to more stillness but the musician is still present in the work, alert to it. This is an ‘observational pause’, or a ‘vibrating pause’.

• The dancers enter the space before the sound is made. The sound is then gradually or abruptly brought in – the musician decided this in terms of tone and timing

• The performers are trying not to mirror the music. The music is yet another player to RESPOND to; byt try to mainly resist it.

• The performers could at times choose to move with the sound; but when this happens the musician should pull the ground beneath their feet

• Music is an obstacle for a dance to navigate around. A chase game between dancers and the sound. When you see a dancer start following the sound, change the sound. Play with the tension of resisting each other’s influence.

• No mimicry with sound. Do not create narrative or add emotion to the movements.

• Audiences should experience the contrast between what they are seeing and what they are hearing. Relationship between movement and music = mismatch.

• The music will be dropping in and out, with unexpected pockets of silence as well as changes in sound. A general rhythm that we want to create is arythmical and patchy.

• Sound can, but does not need to be subtle or soft. Be obvious, don’t hide the music.

• Avoid the mellow sounds, sweet sounds, overtly soft sounds, melodics. Sound adds a texture but it is an uneven texture, a little rough at times. Some moments can be a bit erratic (erratic or restless sounds).

• Arrhythmical sounds, surprising, illogical at times. No to logic! Yes to: Irregularity. Unpredictability. Ugly sounds. Surprising sounds. Confusion. Sudden silence. Create a ‘sound collage’ made of things that don’t necessarily go together.

• Music could be a bit disruptive in that it suddenly comes in and suddenly goes out. Surprise us with sounds. An abrupt silence is ok!

• The sound can start heading somewhere, then change the plan suddenly

• Do the opposite to what you intend to do

• Make sounds that you’ve never made

• Keep changing trajectories but also persist

• Repetition and persistence is in the tool box too. Don’t rush. Get stuck, loop, repeat.

• What function does the music serve? a) It is another player in the space. Something for dancers to respond to or reject. b) It adds a layer. It adds a texture. c) It is an obstacle. d) It is a timekeeper (indicates transitions)

• The third music cue needs to be different from the first two and a bit more abrupt, obvious, loud, jolting. Otherwise there is a risk of not hearing it.

• Last 10 min of the performance, all dancers exit ‘the diamond’ back into the audience. The musician continues playing; a sense of a sound RESIDUE or REVERBERATION of the performance hovering over an empty diamond.

Clothing:

• Pedestrian – so to blend into the audience; not always clear who is a part of the performance and who not, so there may be an element of a surprise for the audience when a performer walks into the square.