I want to pay some respect to Gil Scott- Heron because he has been on my mind for the past week before his passing. I was recently asked by a theater director to use some text from any poet that I personally find moving for an up coming commission and he was at the top of my list. Gil Scott was known as being the grandfather of rap, a title that did not sit well with him because he viewed himself more of a writer/poet but none the less a prolific artist. For all of you who are not too familiar with his work please read this article in the New York Times about his life and do some research on him yourself because he was a very powerful artist and human being with such an incredible voice.
posted below are a couple videos of his work that I personally enjoy and hope that you do too.
Ok. Ok. I know that two back to back post about Beyonce is a little much but she is killing it right now.
Watching this video i was a little depressed about how well she integrated multi-media into her show which is something so many choreographers have been trying to do for years and have failed miserably. A huge budget helps dont get me wrong. I was also sad about how this could be the end for the elusive creature known as the Back up dancers and maybe even the majestical Video Hos........Le sigh, that's a world that i could not live in. Further on into the video I saw a glimpse of hope in the world in the form of a split egg or LES TWINS. Those crazy french basterds (hehe) made it all up in the video and brought a smile to my face so thanks.
Enjoy and I promise no more Beyonce videos. Maybe.
What can I say about this iphone video of Beyonce rehearsing backstage on American Idol where she debuted 1+1...... I mean this bitch can SANG!!
This goes to show that under all of the glitz and glam this women is incredibly talented and this video shows just how far it goes. I feel like I'm at Mcdonalds because I'm Loving it!
Pro skater Terry Kennedy has a documentary talking about how Skateboarding is a melting pot amongst all cultures with a mutual respect for one another just as long as you are having fun. Featured in the film is Prod, and new pro skater Theotis Beasly talking about they're experiences growing up.
Over the past week Fox news has started a smear campaign against the liberal rapper Common. Common is known in the Hip-hop community as being socially conscious with his lyrics, very positive compared to many others. Maybe even soft. He is very well respected and loved for his lyrical content until the Republican party and Fox news deemed him too offensive to be invited to the White House for a poetry reading. Personally, I dont know what they are trying to prove by attacking Common because all of this hoopla is proving how old, racist and out of touch the Republican party and Fox News are. Thank you Jon Stewart for defending him and putting the whole thing into perspective.... this should have ever been an issue. The whole thing is disgusting and sad.
Good luck with that Republican presidential run. Between fools like Palin and the Donald its obvious where you guys stand.
Crystal Pite or as I like to call her "my future babies mamma" has a new work for her company Kidd Pivotcalled The You Show. Judging by the clips and the little I have heard about the production its cool to see her use her dancers as modern day super heroes. Look at the part with Jermain flapping his cape like Tetsuo from Akira or the end of the video with her dancers turning intoVoltron like Giant Robots. This women never ceases to amaze and she only gets better with time and thats why we should be together!
If you ever get the chance to catch any of her work do yourself a favor and buy tickets. Nothing better than the real thing.
Ever since last February when Alex and I were approached on the side walk by my house as we were rehearsing for lord knows what by the SF Chronicle, I have never known what to do with the actual material.
Long story short,
We were work shopping new material outside my house because it was too hot to work in my home studio and a photojournalist so happened to stroll along, see us working outside and asked us if he could shoot for a section called "A day and life of San Francisco Artist."
I had no clue what we were gonna do with the material aside the fact that I wanted to work out some new movement ideas. I did not know what medium the material would be used in or what context. A few days later we shot and filmed the material on Haight and Laguna at a Street Art installation featuring SF artist Jeremy Fish.... Fast forward a couple weeks later, we were featured in the SF Chronicle with an editorial/ interview. All of a sudden I was sitting on a street dance that i never thought about doing along with the film but no idea what to do with it. Of course i would tinkle around with a few concepts but nothing seemed to work because there was not enough material. What we had worked out was by no means a full piece. Not a rehearsal. Not a clip. Not even long enough to be a clip. We only had 45seconds of actual footage and 15 seconds of choreography. I gave myself nothing to work with because the context of the material was very site specific interacting with the surroundings. All the photojournalist did was capture the whole process. Due to the fact i had nothing to work off of I decided that it be best to not worry about it until something hit me.
A couple weeks ago something hit me. Radiohead my favorite band released two new tracks titled Super Collider/The Butcher. Super Collider is a solo piano song that Thom's been playing for a year or so and with the band involved its a whole new beast. This one in particular song sparked my interest because its about the shelf life of a particle which is insane to think about. Thom had given the the smallest, quickest microcosm of an event a soul with major complexity and there lied my answer... I was going to make a video. Now i finally had something to use as a blueprint or launching point. I already knew that the material would not suffice for a full edit but if i put it in the right context combined with the music, lyrics and tone I could make it work. Next thing you know I'm turning 45seconds into Seven minutes which almost seems impossible but so is making a song about a particle explosion. The final product is by no means a dance film or even a about the dance. That concept was thrown out the window a long time ago. This is a music video that explores the beauty of being lost in a perpetual moment.
Enjoy.
Here are the lyrics to accompany the video for you.
Supercollider Dust in a moment Particles scatter Coming up from the soup
Swimming upstream Before the heavens crack open Thin pixelation Coming up from the dust
In a blue light In a green light In a half life In an arc light
I’m a bass bin Flip-flopping I’m a pulse wave Hot-stepping
I put the shadows back into The boxes
I am open I am welcome For a fraction Of a second
I have jettisoned my illusions I have dislodged my depression
I put the shadows back into The boxes I put the shadows back into The boxes
I see an angel hanging over the balcony I see the angels hanging over the balcony
I want to pay some respect to Gil Scott- Heron because he has been on my mind for the past week before his passing. I was recently asked by a theater director to use some text from any poet that I personally find moving for an up coming commission and he was at the top of my list. Gil Scott was known as being the grandfather of rap, a title that did not sit well with him because he viewed himself more of a writer/poet but none the less a prolific artist. For all of you who are not too familiar with his work please read this article in the New York Times about his life and do some research on him yourself because he was a very powerful artist and human being with such an incredible voice.
