This Dance is a Cliché

Submit on Twitter!

unforbiddendances — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:43:59 +0000

Hey there, cliché lovers. Business has been slow lately, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Perhaps you’ve exhausted all of your cliché ideas. Perhaps you’re busy soaking up rays in Cancun on spring break. Whatever it may be, I totally get it. I empathize. Hell, I sympathize. Anyway, since I set up the Twitter account during the Grace Exhibition Space show, I figured “why not use it?” So, in these days of not wanting to write more than 140 characters to explain anything, I’m giving you an easy out: Tweet at us!

Find a cliché video? Have a little cliché dance description for us? Get it up on Twitter, and we’ll posted it up.

Tweet tweet.

Thank you!

unforbiddendances — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:11:13 +0000

Thanks so much for everyone who tuned in to watch TDIAC at the Bushwick SITE festival. Unfortunately, because I was rushed and forgetful, I didn’t get a chance to record the performance. But, we received tons of great feedback and comments on the Twitter stream and kudos from people in states around the country who were watching us make fools of ourselves for the sake of art. (Chair dancing, the Macarena, and pelvis thrusting were all present.) We also learned some fun dances from the audience. I had the pleasure of learning one I think was called “The Matador” that involved a partner and sticking your chest out and wacking your arm behind your back. I’m going to break that out next time I’m at a dance party.

It was an interesting contrast from the first version of the performance, which involved no technology and was all choreographed. Saturday’s performance was very multimedia and had no set choreography. Ultimately, I want to combine both elements to create a longer piece that continues to build on the idea that this is a community project that centers around audience-based submissions.

Photos from the performance to come. And stay tuned for This Dance is a Cliché: Live, part 3. In the meantime, keep the cliché submissions coming!

Watch live! 3 p.m.!

unforbiddendances — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:12:44 +0000

We’re broadcasting live from the Bushwick SITE festival at Grace Exhibition Space today at 3 p.m. Watch us and follow the Twitter stream to view audience commentary/submissions.

Click here to watch live or paste (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/this-dance-is-a-clich%C3%A9) into your browser.

Follow us and watch live!

unforbiddendances — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:32:41 +0000

Follow This Dance is a Cliché on Twitter: twitter.com/tdiac

I’m in the process of setting up a live video feed that will allow anyone to watch Saturday’s dance installation live on this website. While you watch, you can also comment on what you are seeing or submit cliché ideas by replying to our Twitter stream. Audience members will be updating Twitter in real time during the performance.

I’m trying to bring the idea that this is an Internet-based community project to a live performance venue. It’s an experiment, as these things always are, but it could end up being a valuable one in realizing the role of technology and interactivity in a live performance setting.

If you’re not able to make it to Saturday’s performance (3 p.m. at Grace Exhibition Space), visit this website from 3-3:30 to watch it live!

We did it!

unforbiddendances — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:52:47 +0000

This Dance is a Cliché: Live finally had its debut last week, and it was a very successful evening. The audience members at Open Performances were active watchers with great eyes for detail, who offered up a ton of helpful feedback and have already helped me begin to reshape the piece to achieve the final product I would like. We had an engaging conversation about the concept of cliché, why it exists and why calling something “cliché” suddenly makes it taboo. (Or does it?)

This piece is going to see several different incarnations, and who knows what the final product will be or if there will necessarily be just one final product.

My first challenge will be to turn this into an interactive dance installation, which will be performed (gasp) one week from today at the Bushwick SITE festival at Grace Exhibition Space. Come through if you’re in the NY area! My piece begins at 3 p.m. and will be running until about 3:30. There will be performances of varying types occurring from 2-9 p.m., and food and drink will be available.

In the meantime, here’s a little montage of last Wednesday’s performance. Photos by Joe Che are available on my Flickr. Special thanks to Karilyn Surratt and Amanda Schoppe for learning and performing this choreography with grace and humor. And another special thanks to Shanna Honkomp for holding down the Flip cam.

[Vimeo 3412725]

OMFG

unforbiddendances — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:38:46 +0000

It’s finally here … the first debut of This Dance is a Cliché as a live performance. I can hardly contain myself. I’m very, very excited about what I’ve developed thus far, and I’m very excited about what the future holds for possibilities and ways to change and manipulate this concept, both as a choreographic piece but also as something larger that maintains the collaborative nature of this Internet-based project. I have a few ideas of my own, but suggestions are welcome!

If you’re in the NYC area, please come to Dance Theater Workshop tonight (3rd floor, 8 p.m.) to see TDIAC as a work-in-progress as part of Open Performances at Movement Research. A moderated audience discussion will follow. Drinks will follow that.

And if you’re not in the NYC area, keep TDIAC alive by telling your friends and continuing to submit witty and insightful cliché!

xoxo

Believe the hype!

unforbiddendances — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:53:21 +0000

I’ve been busy in the studio, getting together some movement phrases for the premiere of This Dance is a Cliché on February 18, and I must say, it’s been really fun. In its essence, the piece is about writer’s block because really, that’s why I developed this project in the first place. Cliché was inhibiting me so much that I could not even develop ideas without being roadblocked by one of those suckers. This project (and all of you!) have helped me to unclog the drain and let the ideas pour out. I can’t reveal too much about the piece right now, but if you are in the New York area, please come out to Dance Theater Workshop on February 18 to see it premiered as a work-in-progress. (The performance is FREE! No excuses!)

In the meantime, this blog has been getting some more Internet hype:

Dance Advantage
trailerpilot
dancepulse

Fourteenth Submission: Jean-Pierre

unforbiddendances — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:40:56 +0000

Sometimes we happen upon cliché when we aren’t even looking for it. Jean-Pierre had this experience recently and sent me the following submission:

I was googling something entirely unrelated to belly dance or princess leia; when I found this article with these videos embedded:

The artists combined really cliche tribal belly dance with really cliche Star Wars costumes to create an entirely new original horror

I would hesitate to call belly dancing “cliché,” but it seems these so-called belly dancers are mediocre at best. I also shy away from anything that combines the terms “dance” and “fantasy.” It just never bodes well for those of us who are legit.

Thirteenth Submission: Heather R

unforbiddendances — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:40:35 +0000

Heather found this video from the 2006 Showstopper Dance Competition that kind of sums up every single cliché associated with dance competitions that I could ever imagine, some of which have already been mentioned on this blog. Behold! The group fouetté turns, the heel stretch, the leg turn, the out-of-character hip grind, the super-young girls in triangle bikini tops and bare midriffs. WHAT A WILD, WILD PARTY!

[Ed note: Embedding was mysteriously disabled, so you can access the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RgUmkfUj3A]

Twelfth Submission: Todd Walker

unforbiddendances — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:33:41 +0000

Big props to my temporary roomie and member of my OCU dance family for encouraging his advanced tap students at Applause Studios in Oklahoma City to participate in this project! He sent me two videos. The first video is a cliché dance he choreographed and set on his students:

The second video is the students’ own interpretation of dance cliché:

I absolutely love this. I love that the students’ are creative and open-minded enough to be able to see dance elements that are overused in their own world, where many of their performances take place on a competition stage. Youth of America, you’re making me proud. (Thanks again to Todd!!)