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It is my honor to be part of the inaugural issue of Sunshine Arts, a newsletter by Amy Mahon, of South Florida artists and events!
I was interviewed about my dance teaching at the University of Miami in the time of COVID. I focus specifically on using technology in modern and jazz dance classes.
Check it out for free here.
I am thrilled to be writing a 3-part series for DanceGeist Magazine about Power Dynamics in Dance.
The first part was released earlier this week in the February issue. Read it here. Catch part 2 about disrupting and divesting from harmful patters in March. Part 3 in April will look at consent-based practices.
The ezine is free, but does require a subscription. Get yours here.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Lauren RE Larkin on Sancta Colloquia very early in the pandemic. We talked about how what I know from training in intimacy direction applies to my work as an educator and all our lives as humans.
CW: sexual abuse, religious content
What Intimacy Direction can Bring to Dance. Dance Magazine. September 2020.
What Playwrights can Learn from Intimacy Directors. A conversation with Gaby Labotka for Howlround. September 1, 2020.
What It’s Like To Be A Black Intimacy Coordinator In The Era Of Consent And Political Resistance. An interview with Tenice Divya Johnson and Sasha Smith. Elle Magazine. September 8 2020.
Momentum Stage has just launched a new course I wrote combining my training in intimacy choreography, the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System and my years as both an educator and creator of movement.
This is to offer teaching options for those who are either encouraged or mandated to not touch in teaching. This is not a class about touching student. It is a class to consider IF touch is necessary, HOW do we teach without it (or very little of it), and WHEN/IF it is necessary, to make very specific choices in our type of touch in order to be as effective as possible with that touch.
Read MoreWell, that’s a really bold question, as we have no idea what just being on stage looks like right now!
But, in the past week I’ve had a couple of conversations about this, and I do have some thoughts.
Even if we’re “back to normal”, there are going to be performers, directors, and administrators that are more wary of intimacy, especially if those intimate moments would cause a meeting of soft tissues like kissing. I am already in the habit of choreographing a “Plan B” for kisses that can be done in case of actor illness, and understudy stepping in, etc. A good intimacy director/choreographer should have been providing these all along, and they, the director, and the actors involved should all feel just as confident about the story-telling involved in those moments as they do with the kiss. See my earlier post about Plan Bs.
It is possible that bringing on an Intimacy Director/Choreographer is part of a company’s safety plan. This was raised in a conversation hosted by Directors Lab West yesterday with Ann James of Intimacy Directors of Color and Carly D. Weckstein, an independent sex educator and Intimacy Director (check out the convo here). Bringing in an ID could be a way a company says to their community that they take the physical and mental health of their performers and production crew seriously, and are hiring people with specials skills in doing that.
Both of these thoughts lead me to #2.
Intimacy Directors/Choreographers are Movement Specialists. And movement is still going to be on stage, even if physical contact is not.
Intimacy Directors/Choreographers are movement specialists (or at least they should be). They have been trained in movement for the stage. Sometimes this aspect gets lost in the more “news-worthy” part of the job- gaining consent, establishing boundaries, hopefully avoiding lawsuits for the company, etc. I came to this work after 10 years of choreographing. I have a Bachelor’s degree in dance. I have studied movement at an even deeper level by obtaining my Laban certification. When I train with IDI, IDC, or TIE, we are given feedback not just on our ability to put best practices in communication into use, but in our choreographic abilities. My job is make sure the story is told, and told well, and that the director and actors feel confident in the performance.
I believe my in-depth knowledge of movement will make me more of an asset to confident story-telling on the stage, even if the actors must remain apart or not fully physically engaged in the intimacy.
I do believe my role will still be necessary when we get back in space together. For safety and for the sake of the story, I think it will be even more necessary! We’ll see if the industry agrees!
I’d love your thoughts- whether you are a performer, director, producer, or audience member- what would seeing this role in a playbill mean to you pre-Coronavirus? Would it mean the same, or something different after? Leave me a comment!
Please check out the guest post I wrote for the Consent Awareness Network!
Momentum Stage is pleased to be an Ambassador for the Consent Awareness Network.
In my effort to update my website, I realized that this series of videos that I created last summer was living only on YouTube. So here are 8 videos about:
what is Intimacy Direction
why you might or might not hire an Intimacy Director
how I got into Intimacy Direction
what the scene is like in South Florida
and more.
The first video in the series was produced by David Nail and Cliff Burgess. Enjoy!
Consent isn’t about sex. It isn’t about touching, or feelings, or legal liability.
Consent is about seeing the other person in the conversation with you as a full person, with boundaries, agency, opinions, and rights.
In the performing arts, saying “yes”, whether we really mean it or not, has been reinforced over and over again. Especially for those on the performing end. We need to see “yes”, “no” and “I need more information” as equally valid answers.
Theatres are starting to incorporate consent work into scenes of an intimate nature. The work of Intimacy Directors International and Theatrical Intimacy Education has been to establish these practices. But what about other moments where consent should be requested?
Auditions
Theatres who hold auditions without disclosing the productions to be staged, and/or the characters available in those productions. I get that sometimes you are waiting for your rights, and you really need to have auditions. However, consistently holding auditions without telling performers what they are auditioning for is telling performers that their time, preferences, boundaries, and ability to ask questions that matter to them are of no importance to you. That you, as the producing entity, have the right to know what you are looking for, but they don’t. This continues traditional power structures and removes personal agency from your actors. This may not be what you’ve intended, but it is what happens; and it’s dehumanizing.
Teaching/Directing
A lot of choreographers and dance teachers especially, instruct with corrective touch. It’s a time honored tradition. However, with 1 in 6 women having been a victim of sexual assault, and approximately 60,000 children assaulted each year, touch from a stranger or authority figure may not be one of the best ways to teach groups any longer. Yoga is doing a better job with trauma-informed practice, and dance and theatre would do well to consider some of their solutions. At the very least, teachers/directors/choreographers should be asking before we touch anyone on any given day.
Somatic movement pioneer Irmgard Barteniefff said “Tension masks sensation.” If you see a student tensing before you correct them, is your touch even going to be useful? Could your corrections actually be more applicable to more people, if given with evocative language, rather than personal touch?
Check out this free resource about teaching with a trauma-/touch-informed lens. Purchase Touch card templates here.
Being an Audience
Does the audience know what they have agreed to when they enter your space? If your show is “immersive” or contains content that may offend someone, is your audience aware of that before they buy tickets? As they buy tickets? Enter your space? Or only after it has happened? And are they clear on whether or not they can interact with the performers, and the consequences of violating expectations? You may assume your audience has consented, simply by being in your space. But consent requires specific and clear information, and if that hasn’t been given, neither has consent.
How are you (or is your organization) approaching consent in artistic work? Leave a comment!
I have found this practice to be incredibly useful in alleviating behavior issues within classes or casts.
Why have a class or cast contract?
Decentralizes Power
This is a big one for me, especially when it comes to dealing with young people in the arts. They are dealing with a dual power structure of director or choreographer/actor and adult/youth. Young people often feel they cannot say “no” or ask questions because of this. By creating a contract, the power shifts to the group as a whole shaping the expectations they have of each other, not just what the person in charge wants to see.
Promotes Buy-in and Accountability
Clarity of Expectations
Safety
Participation
Attitude
Attire
Success is Built in
Recommendations for creating a class or cast contract:
Use a posterboard that can hang in your room or a corner of the board that can remain dedicated to this, or post in Classroom or Group Page.
Stay Small. 5-7 points should be sufficient. Draw connections whenever possible to an existing point.
Include:
Consequences of Contract violation
Chain of Communication if the director/choreographer/teacher violates the contract
Any Departmental or umbrella organization expectations/requirements.
End with “Have fun!”, “Have a good show!” or similar. This should be just as much an expectation as respect or wearing appropriate footwear.
If a hard copy, have every member of the class or cast sign it.
Do you have questions regarding creating or maintaining a class or cast contract? Nicole Perry has experience in using these documents with students as young as kindergarten to adult professionals. Set up your Creative Practice Consultation now.
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