"All I can be at any moment is all of myself."  -Deborah Hay

I am an independent dance artist who will participate in the 2012 Solo Performance Commissioning Project with choreographer Deborah Hay. This is an 11-day residency in Findhorn, Scotland, during which I and the other participating artists will learn the same solo dance choreographed by Hay, who will guide and coach us in the performance of the solo during this residency. Ultimately, the solo will be adapted by each of us through a period of practice that extends into the months following the project. At the conclusion of the residency, we will commit ourselves to a daily practice of the new piece for a minimum of three months before its first public performance.

The Solo Performance Commissioning Project is an important opportunity for me. I have read Hay's writings and seen her works performed, and each exposure to her ideas has led me to reevaluate and deepen my own practice. Hay focuses on the role played by a performer's internal state. Her description of her choreography as “a dancer's self-regulated transcendence of the ways in which he or she has been choreographed by living here on this earth” resonates powerfully for me. I have also been influenced by her suggestion that each of our trillions of cells has a form of consciousness that has the potential to be accessed by the dancer. I feel that the opportunity to work closely with Hay will help me to achieve a more nuanced understanding of how the composition of my internal state impacts my external performance.

In addition, being in possession of a solo commissioned from Hay opens new doors for me to tour and perform, as Hay's work is known and appreciated around the world.

In order to participate in this project, all of the dancers must raise the commissioning fee from within our communities. Communities (family, friends, granting agencies, corporations) become the patrons for each dance. All patrons will receive program acknowledgment every time I perform the solo.

This Kickstarter appeal will cover the commissioning fee. However, I also need to raise funds for my travel to and from Findhorn, for my accommodation while in Scotland, and for rehearsal space during my three-month immersion in the solo after the residency. So any funds contributed beyond $2,000 will still go towards funding this project and will be much appreciated.

Thank you for reviewing my proposal, and I hope you will consider backing my participation in this project!

Artist's statement:  

I am concerned with what dance “is” beyond its visual impact. I like to consider the ways that dance has shaped my mind, and how my mind is in turn capable of re-shaping my body. My ongoing studies of dance, yoga, improvisation, experiential anatomy, and meditation have deepened my belief in the influential nature of thoughts as physical processes and the body’s essential role in thinking.

Much of my work originates in bodies resonating with one another, with space, with sound. Currently, I am focused on dance as a form of knowledge, exploring what is made possible by the physical and emotional relationships of dancers. We are in a unique position to explore the connective and transformational potential of body/minds, as we practice opening ourselves to the possibilities of the body as a complex system that can shift itself through perceiving and acting in the world. 

More about me: http://perpetualmvmtsnd.org/

More about Deborah Hay and the Solo Performance Commissioning Project: http://www.deborahhay.com/about.html