Graduate development intensive and six month mentorship programme
Between 9th and 13th September 2013 eight recent performing arts graduates (Figure Eight Collective) joined together for a choreographic laboratory lead by Laurel Tentindo, renowned member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company (2007-2012) and Skinner Releasing Teacher. She is currently developing IMAGE ACTION in Los Angeles, a contemporary circus of dances with objects that engages the audience in the kinesthetic experience of the dance. Within her residency here in the UK, the graduate dancers were an integral part of the evolution of this choreographic process. In Coventry, dancers created FIGURE EIGHT with Tentindo. FIGURE EIGHT began as performers invited audience members to close their eyes. Performers then lead the audience through the performance space and when the audience members opened their eyes, they found themselves at the center of the stage in a pool of light. Throughout the piece, performers asked the audience to change locations in relation to the lighting and choreography, giving the viewers a sense of a visual and kinesthetic journey. Tentindo’s aim was to innovate a shared movement-based language for the dancers and audience. The performance began with the audience members and performers involved in ordinary and pedestrian movements. As the piece progressed and viewers found their seats, these everyday actions became formalized through patterns in space and temporal agreements. Gradually, the piece transformed into a magical dream-like spectacle: performers don sculptural headdresses and disembodied shadows emerge on the walls.
The choreographic laboratory culminated in a sharing in Coventry. A short video of this sharing can be found below.
Reaching beyond this week-long intensive the Figure Eight Collective continues to collaborate and build a community of practice as part of the six month mentorship programme organised by Decoda. For more information about their ongoing work click here.
Decoda intends to continue offering these graduate intensives every year. More information about the graduate intensive in 2014 will be coming soon.
Figure Eight Collective – Short Version from laureltentindo on Vimeo.
More about Laurel…
Image Laurel Tentindo. Photograph by Arthur Chedeville
Laurel Jenkins Tentindo is an independent choreographer, dancer and teacher based in Los Angeles. Laurel danced around the world as a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 2007-2012. She developed original roles in Brown’s final three works. Additionally, Laurel has danced with Sara Rudner, Vicky Shick, and the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. Her choreographic and dancing practices are deeply influenced by the Skinner Releasing Technique, Improvisation, and Trisha Brown’s movement vocabulary. Laurel’s work has been shown internationally and in NYC at Danspace, Judson Church, Joyce SoHo and at the Puppet Lab at St. Anne’s Warehouse, and in Los Angeles at Highways, The Fowler Museum, the Electric Lodge and Pieter. She is currently developing IMAGE ACTION in Los Angeles, a contemporary circus of dances with objects that engages the audience in the kinesthetic experience of the dance. She credits Decoda and the Figure Eight Collective for their support and artistic contributions to this work.
IMAGE ACTION by Laurel Tentindo ©
Telegraph by Laurel Tentindo ©