Last week we ran the beginning solo and duet sections one by one, whereas they usually overlap in time and space (i.e. they are normally solos in the sense of individualized parts, but multiple occur simultaneously on stage).  This made for a different experience of my opening section with Molly.  Rather than simply freeing up space and allowing us to travel encumbered, the lack of other concrete bodies actually made some of the mapping more difficult—we accounted for the absent dancers differently, and therefore found it harder to stay side by side during periods of letting go and clasping hands.  I also fatigued significantly more and found it harder to get through the section, from what I believe to be a lack of the usual collective energy and distraction of others (as well as the increase pressure when performing.

This speaks to how space is perceived in relation to other objects, even when performing seemingly disconnected “solos.” It reminds me of a scene in The Aviator (2004) in which Howard Hughes (Leo DiCaprio) realizes that there must be clouds in the sky—objects of reference—in order for audiences to sense their distance from one another and from the ground.  Cunningham’s work seems to play around a lot with the idea of context more broadly, particularly with the way that “events” recontextualize and mash up different movement segments.

This experience of running the solos separately also showed how perceptions of bodies in time depend on/are affected by the other parts on stage.  Derrick and Hannah’s duet (though Hannah has been injured, so Derrick did it alone) seemed to take much longer than it usually does, without the other dancers to draw attention.  Some parts of the duet also seemed very new and unfamiliar, as I was accustomed to looking elsewhere on stage for certain moments.  In this way, the overlapping solos in the first part tend to come forward and recede, though I like the fact that there are not usually clear places when they should do so—it is a collage of sorts, from which the audience takes what they want.