Studying the future

As a choreographer, I make patterns for people to occupy in time and space. This is design guided by story and form. The elements at hand; the particular dancers, and the music that accompanies them, as well as the contribution of lighting, wardrobe and the scenic designers with whom I work, all collaborate to create a theatrical experience with a beginning, middle and end. If you change any one of these elements you will radically alter the work’s profile. If you change the look of a chair you can set the work in a different world, say 19th century Vienna, rather than New York City in early 21st century. If you take the dancers out of tights and leotards, and ask Isabel Toledo to design the wardrobe, as I did for a piece called Yemaya, the dance will move from the sharp, abstract and so-called modern world of the early 20th century, to Havana in the mid-century. As a choreographer the movement utilized for the former would be much different. It would be more mechanized, and angular perhaps, and would utilize formations to a great degree. It would be structured in relation to the music, or consciously go against it, rather than utilizing movement that might reflect a nation, its folkloric traditions, and its people as they make their way through their daily lives. These are choices designers make. Every detail must be examined and coordinated. The artist answers for every aspect of the work that impacts its viewer. The more we know about the tradition of our craft; by studying, looking and questioning, the better equipped we will be to rationally design for the future.