In reading your blog I was impressed with your dialogue about dance (contact) Improvisation. What prompted me to write is your line: “My personal need for context comes out of the recent realization that I have no idea how I came to be a performer of improvisational (contemporary / new / post post modern) dance in New Zealand”.

This got me thinking. So here goes, a small rant which I hope may provide an answer or form a possible answer to your above statement.

I have not had intimate conversations with you in the time I’ve known you so I’ll talk from what I know. I have not seen all of your work but of what I saw, it was mostly the early stages of your development in the mid 90s. Not seeing all your work is perhaps good for me as I ramble on.

For me, the first time I saw ‘dance improv’ done so well was when you and Guy did a performance in Wellington at some Club, sorry I don’t recall which Club. This had a profound impact on me and I can still recall the power of this performance.

My recollection of that night: That it was a raw, very masculine energetic visual feast and physically full of grunt and beauty. Softness interjected throughout your dance improv balanced by violent powerful bursts of energy, moving in a fluid emotion(al)/motion that was mesmerizing to witness. It made me took note; I believe I was watching something very ethereal, something that told me, dance improv is a powerful form of expression, or story telling. It made me say WOW. I want to be able to do that and to take that energy and use it in theatre performance. It made me feel good about dance/movement. For me bro’, I believe this was your beginning in DANCE IMPROV.

My version of course, you may disagree, but I hope this will jog your memory of a time when I saw good dance improv.

And the other thing that prompted me to write is your academic endeavours. I am intrigued by how art and academic agree/disagree or dissect/intersect. Certainly when an artist contributes to an academic branch, it does add substance as the artist has inside knowledge and not merely an observer – akin to the field of anthropology – inside vs outside knowledge. I have more to say about art and academic but thats for another time. Would love to sit down with you some day and talk more.

Anyway bro, best with your academic studies, it does sound very interesting and hope that it will offer you plenty, and that you’ll be able to answer your many questions as you embark on this new endeavour.

PS:
i like to use improvisation as a means to create original ‘devised’ theatre.