dance process journal #15: a bit of costume silliness

We had our first rehearsal on the grass in Washington Square this week.  For our Fringe performances we'll need costumes that don't mind grass stains and dirt, and shoes that work for this terrain.  As with previous performances I'm going for something that shows the body's movement but also looks somewhat pedestrian and creates variety from dancer to dancer.  We can use some items from before, but an additional consideration is that temperatures will probably be in the 80s or maybe higher.  Plus a few things have gone missing! so I asked everybody to bring a number of options to rehearsal.  My dancers are nice enough to wear (almost) anything I ask, so there wasn't too much controversy when I asked them for their thoughts on the costumes.  But I can always count on them for some silliness :)

Working in this new environment was a big adjustment for all of us.  I really had to focus on observing and directing the dancers rather than videotaping the movement.  I'll try to get some footage from upcoming outdoor rehearsals once we are better oriented to the terrain, although I am also not sure how much video I want to post here before the shows.  I don't want to spoil it for the people who are attending, but I'll try to get a little something up next week if I can.  We have rehearsals scheduled in both Philly and NYC next week -- as long as Hurricane Irene leaves us with somewhere to dance!