Abstract
Pieces of Intention began as a duet, exploring the harsh boundaries that exist for men with respect to heterosexuality and homosexuality. I was drawn to the idea that men are constantly “walking on egg shells” to project (and preserve) an air of masculinity, and that with one wrong step, a vulnerable or fragile mindset can be exposed. The image that the floor could break or shatter gave clear intention and impulse to the building of the movement vocabulary. I knew I wanted the movement to be fast and isolated with lots of tapping or jumping in and out of the floor, developing into this character of a man that is “on edge.”
Throughout the choreographic process the duet became a solo; I started to explore the idea of pre-existing energies. Having danced this work with someone before, there continued to be lingering information from generating the duet form. The duet now exists with the stillness, the space and the memory of sharing. My investigation of stillness also dares the audience to move in and out of discomfort. By interrogating duration, I am also discovering nuanced performance challenges.
I’m fascinated by enclosure – defining and collapsing of the space – and seeing only what you need or want to see. The work changes every time for this reason. I don’t feel the need to be a specific guy every time I go to perform this work. It simultaneously develops from the internal and external landscape. I am a man, living in our current society, and I bring in all that I am feeling that day, that moment, and try to be present and available to the work in that way.
