The Body Electric

image of Huge Harry from http://artifacial.org/assets/images/hh_in_slovenia_s.jpg


So next semester, basically every course I would have ever taken is offered. From Electrical body art (Huge Harry, STELARC) to Light art (Damnit! I teach the second night of that course!), it's all happening. I'm going to do an independent study in Wave Field Synthesis that will include building a speaker system, and I'm thinking my third class will be a mobile media course. It's going to be a nutty semester, to be sure!

But yeah, this body electric class, it is going to rock, I mean, SHOCK, my world! So yeah, I'll take lots of pictures and post them from the class.

Project Update(s)

I've had to slow down on the body work projects for a little while. Testing was to begin this weekend, but due to some unforeseen circumstances I've had to take a little break from it. I should be back up and running with suspension in the first week of January... details of which will be posted when I have them. In the interim, I'll be working with a woodworker in NYC to test my body for resonant nodes the same way you would test wood- by hooking my body up to a large vibrating machine and see where sand settles on it. I'm hoping when we rig this up we can videotape it. Somehow, the visual idea of this is too wonderful to not video. Somehow I think we need to rig this up to be something gorgeous rather than what it will be- a mythbusters style video. Eh... testing is testing. Musicians are never great with aesthetic anyhow, right?

Onto other things of note: Within the next month I'll have two full length recordings come out online. (What is a full length online recording anyway? I am stuck with the notions of EP, LP and CD formats for timing.) One will be of my as-of-yet nameless duet project, and the second will be a solo release. All of this is "in situ" and I will post here accordingly once it is all public.

What else can be mentioned? Where else am I behind in work? Ah yes... still putting together the tour, gathering materials and getting ready for hopefully two short Seattle trips for the new dance piece. I also have a piece to put together for the Boston Cyber Arts Festival now, which will be a solo project for me (go figure) and who knows what else. With the CyberArts festival I'll be able to test the tech for the Seattle show, however, so that is good.

Last but not least, get ready for some invasive and guerilla style mobile media dance projects this spring. I'm trying to put together a troupe who is willing to take the city by storm. Once I've got five or six nutters ready to take it on, I'll post some dates, times, and locations.

So, even though my posts have slowed, I'm still busy, and still working on all of this. I'll keep at least a weekly update for stuff for the next few weeks until I get the video and pictures back from the test runs of the suspension project.

Daily Bell Post

My project for Daily Bell will be broadcast on the online radio show at free103point9 tomorrow at 12pm EST, and then will be archived at Brenda Hutchinson's Daily Bell Blog Archive. You should check it out, as well as the other amazing artists on this lineup. I'm really excited to have been a part of it.

The group I taught

Another picture from Lanzarote

This was a picture from the first night in Lanzarote, of me spinning poi. The photo was taken by Dan Kahn, for which I am very grateful that he has allowed me access to them.

Spinning there was, to say the least, one of the coolest places I've ever spun fire. I mean, seriously. On a lava flow, covered with lava rocks, able to see the ocean and an active volcano at once. Really, I could NOT have asked for a better gig. And, as I mentioned, my super rockstar students who were just simply AMAZING. I love them all so much.

Happy Thanksgiving

This pretty much says it all.



Happy Thanksgiving, folks.

Spain

I spent the last week in Lanzarote, Spain, teaching fire spinning, movement, sounding/vocalizations and learning gobs about suspension and body modifications. I went up, doing a four hook 'suicide' suspension. I'm very glad that I did, as the freak out was important to get through in private, without the additional concerns of making it art. I learned that I can dance while suspended, move quite a bit about (I really enjoy the position, as it allows a fair amount of movement options!) and really had a great time. I also learned that my two month wait time is not as necessary as I thought, and can move my testing and work to as quickly as once a week, but I think that every other to every three weeks is close enough. I learned a lot about hook placement, and, I've learned how to place hooks and have clothing on still (important for public performance!). I also know now that I am going to have to use frontal hook placement for maximum resonance (which is good in many ways, though I will admit it is a bit more painful than the back).

I truly enjoy going up, and it is wonderful to do. I only was up for about 35 minutes that time, as it was cold and my body was getting a bit stiff. I now know without a doubt that I love the project, love the process, and, most of all, get much pleasure from the whole experience.