Re: undemanding, unambitious, uninformed and uninspired

Dennis Diamond (dennis.videod@worldnet.att.net)
Wed, 1 Sep 1999 09:42:35 -0400

If you are interested in information about the process that Alwin Nikolais
and Murray Louis
pursued, I would suggest that you contact the Murray Louis and Nikolais
Dance Company
in New York City. There are some books and video tapes that they produced
that open the
door to the ways in which these two choreographers worked.

Dennis Diamond
Video D Studios Inc.
29 West 21 Street New York NY 10010
212-242-3345 1-800-543-2623 fax: 212-633-1479
visit:www.videod.com
visit:www.danceoncamera.com
e-mail:dennis.videod@worldnet.att.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Adniralc@aol.com <Adniralc@aol.com>
To: dance-tech@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
<dance-tech@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 6:13 PM
Subject: Re: undemanding, unambitious, uninformed and uninspired

><<When Nikolais began his wonderful experiments with light and
choreography,
>did he have to individually wire and test each bulb? Did he have to
>experiment with polymer chemistry to create the fabric for his costumes?
>Did Loie Fuller have to not only dance, but also develop the film, design
>the projector, and build the screen to project it on?>>
>
>I can't speak for nikolais, but, yes, in fact, Loie Fuller did develop are
>her own fabric designs and lighting techniques and technologies--she was
the
>first person to use color in lighting, she designed glow in the dark
effects
>(my friend jody tells a funny-horrifying story about how loie approached
>Marie Curie for radioactive material to make glowing dances with. Marie
>Curie advised against it, by Loie did it anyway), she blew her eyebrows off
>while experimenting once, etc.
>
>The point of this being that as dancers and performance makers we don't
have
>to be limited in our abilities, talents, or explorations--we can be
>technologically savvy as well as choreographically keen, tinkerers as well
as
>twinkletoes. the main limit, as usual, being $$$. But certainly not
>intellectual ability.
>
>it is a lot more difficult, of course, when you can't actually play with
the
>physical materials of construction, instead are mostly limited to
>manipulating different forms of information. However, as
>we-who-are-reading-this know, manipulating information digitally or
otherwise
>is becoming second nature, and it has become its own craft, so that
shouldn't
>stand in our way much longer...
>
>Clarinda Mac Low
>
><<it's the KISS principle>>