Covering letter
Dear LUTSF
Please find
enclosed copy of the report for my recent award from the LUTSF. The scholarship
fund provided the necessary funding to travel
This research &
development period has benefited my choreographic practice in many ways, giving
me valuable and necessary time to explore and develop new creative
relationships. This has had an immediate and positive effect on how I make and
create work. At this moment it is difficult to truly understand the impact this
will have on my creative development.
Kind regards
Errol White
Report
Errol White
This
Research and Development period has benefited my choreographic practice in many
ways, giving me valuable and necessary time to explore and develop new creative
relationships. This has had an immediate and positive effect on how I make
work, presenting me with an opportunity to develop and construct vocabulary in
direct response to an original sound score, which in itself was responding to
my own physical signature.
This
created a fluid and organic dialogue between choreographer and composer, which
presented many possible outcomes to how the work may develop at a later stage.
The relationship between these two elements is paramount to creating work that
is balanced and progressive and therefore less restricted than more traditional
approaches to working with music. Key to this was the development of a flexible
and creative environment providing a safe and challenging space to explore
fully ones idea to their limits. This process allowed the necessary time and
space to support one another while at the same pushing the boundaries of the
relationship between sound and movement to clearly communicate the idea/concept.
During
the week I also had the opportunity to work with Davina Givan for the duration
of this collaboration and this gave the whole experience an extra dimension for
both myself as choreographer and Tiago Cerqueria the composer. Working with Davina
gave me a variety of options as a choreographer which otherwise would not be
available, allowing me to step out of the work at anytime and discuss the
direction of any given moment during the week, providing myself and Tiago with
a more objective understanding of how things were progressing with the project.
Having
first collaborated with Tiago Cerqueria in 2004 on The Collina (a collaborative
Arts Lab directed by Rui Horta), It was unclear whether this collaboration
would be successful, on the contrary, I was able to establish this relationship
further by creating a working environment alongside the composer to achieve all
the elements I set out to explore, which in turn far exceeded my own
expectations during this project.
Having
this opportunity to explore artistically a new direction in this way has been
vital to my future development as a choreographer, contributing to my already
existing skills base whilst providing me with the confidence to explore and
investigate my own working practise. Crucial to this research and development
period was the process of documentation and evaluation providing necessary time
to reflect and assess how the project was progressing and identifying the
outcomes relative to the initial projects intentions. This process of recording
and compiling of information cannot be underestimated, as this presents the
artist with a history of events as and when they arise. Overall I found this
element of my development extremely beneficial and on reflection realise this
will have long-term positive effects on the development of any future work I
create.
Placing
the work in an open feedback situation is a fundamental element to my working
practice. By sharing the work informally with an audience one is presented with
a greater understanding of how the work is perceived and interpreted, giving me
the opportunity to then refine not only the vocabulary but also the placement
of the work in a per-formative environment. I found preparing the work for the
open studio and feedback session an extremely helpful and positive process,
bringing definition and structure to the research & development period,
solidifying both a choreographic and company methodology. The feedback from the
audience was very positive. People found the sharing insightful and
educational, allowing them greater access to an otherwise elitist art form.
During
this research and development period I was able to establish and develop
various new creative relationships and reciprocal partnerships, providing me
with the opportunity to support my current and future creative needs. First of
these was with Rui Horta at the O Espaco
do Tempo in
As a
high profile producer/programmer in
Other
positive outcomes from this professional development include interest from
Maria Ana Franco, director of the Pro Danca studios, in supporting my work with
regards to any future projects/collaborations. This will provide me with the
opportunity to devise and create work in various venues and dance houses
throughout
The planning and management of the project was well structured and
organized. Drawing on my professional experience as a rehearsal director I
maintained a balance between the creative and logistical elements associated with
the running of a project of this type, giving greater freedom to the creative
and choreographic process. Pre planning the logistical elements of the project
proved invaluable to the successful running of the project.
Working
with Tiago Cerqueria in
Errol
White
Photos
by Roy Campbell