Choreographer Ann Carlson to present in-progress piece ‘First Hand’

Ann Carlson found herself in an exhibit with Tibetan monks cloaked in maroon robes while touring New York’s natural history museum.

The monks were seated around a large canvas mandala, adding to it piece by piece. They did not speak, but acknowledged her presence by turning to her and smiling. Nearby, a sign read, “We believe that when the creative process is made public, it infuses the product of that creative process with that kind of sacredness.”

Carlson, a choreographer, performer and visiting faculty member, said she identifies with the belief expressed on the sign. She said she wishes to spread it this week through her dance piece in “First Hand,” a showcase of in-progress choreography by UCLA world arts and cultures/dance faculty.

Carlson will be participating in “First Hand” along with three other professional choreographers, Ana Maria Alvarez, Jackie Lopez and Cheng-Chieh Yu. The four choreographers will work with student and professional dancers to share still-evolving choreography with the UCLA community.

The UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance has hosted annual presentations of works in progress in recent years. “First Hand” is the only current performance choreographed by world arts and cultures/dance faculty that allows audiences to see unfinished pieces and become part of the creative process, Carlson said.

“By having the audience come in at a time when the work isn’t done … actually gives the work more information, more heart, more opportunity to go ‘Wow,’” Carlson said.

Carlson’s piece, “The Symphonic Body,” will showcase 10 UCLA dance students. This piece is a sneak peek of a larger version of the same performance that will be held at Royce Hall in November.

For “The Symphonic Body,” Carlson said she conducted research by shadowing her dancers’ daily lives and interviewing them about their emotional life experiences. After observing her dancers’ gestures, Carlson compiled the movements into what she calls a “gestural orchestra piece.”

In the piece, the dancers will wear black and be seated in an orchestra setting around Carlson, who will act as their live conductor. The performance will lack any musical accompaniment and will instead be composed entirely of gestures.

“(The piece is) the aesthetic of the every day,” Carlson said. “It is the physical music we make every day of our lives.”

Choreographer and faculty member Yu said her piece, “From Jargon to Pidgin,” will echo the same theme of shared experiences. Yu, who is also the showcase’s director, has been working with UCLA students since January to create an experimental piece questioning the methods of communication.

Yu said the first half of the piece, “Jargon,” sheds light on how words within a field of study can have empty meanings to people outside the field.

“(I’m) kind of questioning those jargons and whether they still have currency, or if they would have more meaning when we really pay attention and are aware of when we use it,” Yu said.

Yu said she conveys her take on jargon by setting her 18-minute dance to music overlaid with spoken word tutorials for various types of dances. While the recording will give specific instructions for different dance styles, she said dancers will challenge these instructions by demonstrating different interpretations of the words with their bodies.

The other half of the title, “Pidgin,” suggests many styles and backgrounds coming together to communicate, Yu said, which is representative of the dancers’ diverse training backgrounds.

Jocelyn Reyes, a second-year dance and cognitive science student, is dancing in both Alvarez’s piece and Yu’s “Jargon and Pidgin,” the latter of which she said is interpreted differently each time it is performed. Reyes said the piece was not whole until the final rehearsals.

“(Yu) always talks about treating it as an improvisation itself, or variation of the movement or relationships,” Reyes said. “It’s an established structure, but within the structure, we have room to play.”

Both Carlson and Yu said the improvisation in their performances allows audience members to see a different show of “First Hand” each night. The other performances, “Alone” and “Barrio Mundial” by Lopez and “Agua Furiosa” by Alvarez, focus on honoring people and notions of chaos, respectively.

“(This work in progress is) an opportunity to look through a window into a work that’s maybe not all wrapped up and perfect,” Carlson said. “A lot of us don’t like to be seen when we’re learning something – we all want to be seen at the top of our game. But maybe that’s not always the best thing for the work.”