Trisha Brown’s work has been such an inspiration to me, as a dancer and choreographer. Her ability to open one’s eyes to what dance can be considered is a part of her legacy into the dance world. Her work has gone from simplistic installations to virtuostic dancing performed in an opera house. Her choreography is unlike anything I’ve ever seen; prominent in flow and gesture, rhythmic in time and full of quirky moments. She opened up a new technique to the modern dance world. The most inspiring creative aspect of her choreography to me is her aptitude to create an environment for her audience. It isn’t solely about the dance for her; it is about the feeling and the atmosphere she gives to the people. I don’t think I can pin point any other choreographer that brings forth her innate sense for creating dance. I think more people should understand and appreciate her choreography for being innovative and ground-breaking work.
Go To http://www.trishabrowncompany.org/index.php?page=view&nr=615 to see one of her most famous works, "Glacial Decoy". The blonde women dancing in the duet graduated and taught at my studio in Stevens Point, Wisconsin!
Trisha Brown was a tremendous contribution to the dance world, leaving behind a legacy that stretched the ends of what was considered modern dance. Her work had taken the form of post modernism in a way that no one else had done. The beauty of minimalism and simplicity in her work had shown that pedestrian and gestural movement could be appreciated as being art and avante-garde. Dance had brought new attention to what movement could be; a hand gesture?, a person walking? Could it be outside or on a raft in the water? She brought up questions in her work that got people thinking. It wasn't about emotion or a story, it was about the movement. It showed us that choreography can come from the way an arm bends or the way lines can be put together. She is and will continue to be an icon of post-modern dance world.
The sixties were a time of revolt and celebration; full of self-discovery, experimentation and acceptance of creative statements. With the Vietnam war, came protests and backlash against the U.S. government. A sense of liberation and social change were inevitable, bringing about creativity from the American people. The liberation moved art away from the literal and narrative form, merging into concept and abstractness. For Trisha Brown, this became a dramatic shift in her choreography. Simplicity of gesture, technology and architecture became apparent in her work. Social attention to industry in the seventies influenced her to the use of mechanical gesture and structural logic. Brown used complex mathematical and conceptual systems in connection to chance structures. The social changes that the sixties brought to Brown's work challenged her to use a communal, pedestrian and minimalistic quality to her choreography.
Trisha Brown was born and raised in a pristine forested area in Aberdeen, Washington. She was an athletic child; always playing sports and climbing trees. Her early years she performed tap dance, ballet and acrobatics. She eventually began dancing in jazz routines throughout her high school years. She attended Mills College in Oakland and there studied modern with Martha Graham and improvisation with Anna Halprin. She attended summer programs at Connecticut College working with Jose Limon, Louis Horst and Merce Cunningham. She graduated from Mills College in 1958 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Anna Halprin was a very big influence on Browns technique and improvisations. Her technique specialized in the vocabulary of the body in movement. She focused on improvisation, problem solving, use of space, rhythmic use of muscular weight of movement and manner of execution. This also later influenced her use of space through site specific work, "Man Walking Down the Side Of a Building" and "Drift". Another influence Halprin had on Brown was fusing pedestrian movement and chance structures. Chance structures included childhood games and every day tasks given to dancers. At the time she also worked with other artists and choreographers such as Simone Forti, Yvonne Rainer, Terry Riley, Robert Morris and others. In addition, she began working with Robert Dunn at the Cunninham studio in New York. Throughout her years as founder and artistic director of the Trisha Brown Company (formed in 1970) she performed and collaberated with other artists such as Steve Paxton, musicians and visual artists Robert Rauschenburg, Robert Ashley, Laurie Anderson and Peter Zummo. Her influences and inspirations changed vastly over time and her work has evolved to great places and new innovative creations. Her work today continues to inspire and motivate dancers and choreographers of our time.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
"Whatever happened to 'avant-garde'? Anyone wanting a visual meaning of the phrase in its genuine sense needs look no further than the Trisha Brown Dance Company." Philip Key, Arts editor- Daily Post (Liverpool, England)
Born in Aberdeen, Washington Trisha received her B.A. in dance from Mills College in 1958 and her D.F.A. at Bates College in 2000. She trained with well known choreographers and dancers- Anna Halprin, Yvonne Rainer, Steve Paxton and Simone Forte. She was a founding member of the Judson Dance Theatre in 1962. The Trisha Brown Dance Company, a New York based company, was founded by Brown in 1970. To this day it is one of the leading modern dance companies in the world. The company currently consists of twelve dancers. Trisha Brown has choreographed site-specific works such as "Walking on the Wall"1971 and "Accumulation" 1971. From walking on walls to dancing on rooftops, her creative works have gone so far as dancers floating on rafts in water. I am convinced Trisha can set an experience and environment for her audience in the most unique of ways. Her more large scale works, "Glacial Decoy" 1980 and "Set and Reset" 1983 were performed on stage. The costumes and sets for "Glacial Decoy" were done by Robert Rauschenberg, a very well known artist of our time. Brown has created over 35 dances in her time as director of the company. She uses a diverse selection of sound for her performances, including classical, opera, jazz or silence. Her most recent dance "Astral Convertable" previewed last month in Moscow. Trisha Brown is one of the most widely acclaimed choreographers to emerge from the post-modern era. Brown has pushed the limits to what could be seen as appropriate movement, changing modern dance forever.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
What is your dance lineage?
I have danced since I was a child, generally ballet and modern. I grew up with a studio background in a small town. My studio taught me a lot about how to use your creative mind. It taught me to think as an artist and person rather than just a dancer. We were taught how to improvise at a young age and mostly learned from the techniques of Doris Humphrey and Jose Limon. I was fortunate enough to have worked with some very talented instructors and artists; Ann Mosey, Amy Beversdorf and Pam Luedke. At the age of fourteen I also joined a youth Company in my home town that traveled and performed around Cental Wisconsin; ballet, modern, African, jazz and folk dancing. Post graduation, while attending college I found myself thinking about dance in a more serious and intelligent manor. I was beginning to be interested in how I can take my dancing and choreography to a new level. Mostly recently, this past summer I took part in the Trisha Brown Summer Intensive in New York City and plan to travel to Vienna Austria this next summer to attend Impulz Tanz.
What are your interests?
I am interested in many different ways and styles of work. I have always loved watching contemporary styles of ballet; William Forsythe, Hubbard Street, Alonzo King's Lines Ballet; the technique and skill that these dancers have are beyond a level of impression. The choreography and way of movement brings forth a new age of ballet that I really enjoy seeing.I recently have begun to be interested in performed improvisations and movement with technology. A few months ago I saw Hubbard Street Dance Chicago perform a group improvisation in the Chicago Art Institute. I was interested to see how the dancers would interact with the audience and the objects around them. I liked the excitement of the unexpectedness in choices of movement. I think technology also will be a big part of art and dance in the future. Use of video, photographs, mixed music ect. can come to accompany the performance in an appealing way.
Why should the public care about you, or your work?
As I am exploring and beginning to dig deeper into my own chorography I hope that the public can see my work the way I do. Because of my background in dance I tend to go towards more pedestrian and gestural style of movement, although that too is evolving and changing all the time. I like to use the space and create an atmosphere for the audience to see. I use my inspiration as a starting point for my own work in hopes to be able to create something new and inventive with it. I would hope to think my colleges , teachers, and friends see my work as original and imaginative.
