Reflecting on the past two years following the COVID-19 lockdown, it is interesting to note the many impacts this period has had both on CLD’s practice as dance artists and our ability to present our work.
Most fortunately, we were able to complete our February 2020 NYC season including the world premiere of Tales of Hopper just one week before the lockdown began. This was a work we crafted carefully over a long period of time, allowing for several drafts, showings, and feedback sessions that supported the development of a detailed, fully considered, and rigorously rehearsed work. Then the COVID-19 lockdown ensued, placing a myriad of restrictions on our processes that has severely influenced how we can work and create as a company and how we are able to gain access to both rehearsal and performance spaces in NYC.
In the fall of 2020, we began a new work with long-time collaborator and composer Scott Killian, along with his colleagues Jacob Lawson and Carol Lipnik, on a piece titled Mythologies. Finding it near to impossible to rent rehearsal space in NYC due to COVID-19 restrictions, the company traveled to Tannersville, New York to begin short yet intense development periods under the auspices of the Catskill Mountain Foundation. That fall 2020 through spring 2021, CLD had a handful of 3 or 4-day rehearsal periods to begin developing this new dance work. In total, the workshopping process of Mythologies was about three weeks in length -- a very short period of time to develop a fully wrought piece.
Spring through early fall of 2021, we began seeking performance spaces in NYC for a Thanksgiving weekend performance. Time and again, we encountered a variety of obstacles with numerous venues regarding contractual requirements, costs, and availability. This was a very stressful time, indeed, and it took several months to finalize a space that was appropriate for the work and affordable.
During my Tisch Dance sabbatical for the fall 2021 semester, I temporarily relocated to Salt Lake City to serve as Visiting Professor of Ballet at the University of Utah. For October’s fall break, I returned to NYC to refine and continue to develop the work. By then I had lost two of the four male original cast members due to their commitments to other projects. New dancers joining the rehearsal process at this juncture necessitated teaching the material in addition to trying to refine the choreography. I had hoped to use this time to be deepening and defining the choreography and characterizations, but this necessary step of recasting the Thebes took some attention away from my original timeline. This week of daily rehearsals flew by and, while fruitful, left much work to be done when I next planned to return to New York – the week leading up to our planned performance.
With our performances booked for November 27th and 28th, we had still to clean and tweak the choreography, heighten the characterizations with the dancers, and address key technical details relating to the music, lighting, and costuming with my collaborators. However, the day before I was to fly out, I tested positive for COVID-19. In addition to my absence as Artistic Director, another performer tested positive two days before the show which meant the dancers had to restage the work. Despite all this, my dancers rallied together with the guidance of Corinne Hart, Performing Artist and Executive Administrator for CLD, to make the season come to fruition!
Given the restraints of our initial process, I am happy to say we are returning to Mythologies for our upcoming 2022 Salon taking place on November 27th. I look forward to presenting this reimagined version now that I have addressed the choreographic concerns on which I previously did not have the luxury of space or time to work. We have had focused rehearsal periods for each section of the dance this past spring and summer, and as of September, we began rehearsing regularly in the NYU Tisch Dance studios again; now that most of the stringent COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, Tisch Dance faculty can once again bring their company dancers into the building for creative development. This is a tremendous bonus for CLD -- to work in spacious appropriate studios that are free of cost! Throughout 2020-2021, a sizable amount of the company’s financial reserves went toward studio rentals that were expensive and limited. I can now stand a good 5-7 feet from my dancers to observe and amend the dance in a comfortable manner.
Adding new layers to Mythologies in its reimagination, we have engaged writer and dramaturge, Brian Sostek. Brian’s text will enhance the theatrical arch of the dance by interweaving the choreography and musical score with the spoken word. The centerpiece of the work’s choreographic arc is now the Sirens; they interface with each section of the piece, reinforcing their role as narrative bards and steering the audience to and from the other legendary Greek figures. I have also clarified the inter-relationships and choreographic intention of these characters, more deeply considering the fluid sexual practices of this period, and have found curious parallels to the current cultural mores.
As CLD reimagines Mythologies, we are excited to experience these new developments and to share them with our audience. Please join us at New York City Center Studios on November 27, 2022, at 3 PM EST to witness the reimagination of Mythologies as well as the first look at our newest creative project, The Winter’s Tale.