Twelfth Floor Tour Blog

memories already

2009-04-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Most frequently occuring post-show forum comment

"I got this job becasue they were looking for the larger woman"- Julian Crotti

Technical Highlights

Anton dancing in the dark, no film art on window reveal

Reader of most books

Fenn and Sol

Most Consumed Beverages

Scotch, red bull, pear cider, gin, water

Most Purchased Clothing

Superdry jackets

Most Nicknamed Individual

Bling Bling Ryan

Best dance move

"Swizzle Stick" -Julian Crotti

"Wounded Lover" -Tash James

Location of most ridiculous party

High Wycombe

Rudest Moment

Ms. X requesting over the cans that the prompt side mech get removed from the stage, without realising he was actually listening at the time

Best contact improv party

Brighton

Favorite Hotel

Swindon Travelodge (ahemm)

Coolest Nationality

New Zealand/ Australia tie

Coolest Sexuality

Homosexual

Best Game

Bus trivia, hackey sack, hangman

race for heater switch and do a pole dance (Creator- Julian, Most Outrageous Win- Paul)

Best Pub

Truro, The Rising Sun: with the hot guys and pool comp and loosely tongued dog and darts and jukebox and Amelia floor dancing

Oxford, The Turf tavern: with historical imprints of Burton and Taylor and Clinton, and current time impactful conversations with the social entreprenuers' and doco makers

Most Excessive Exercise

Craig, Lisa and Anton for stair running and swimming

Most Extreme Training Injury

Josh for blood nose running in Nottingham snow

Greatest In-house Chef

Craig- lasagne

Kristina- electric frypan in suitcase

Best House Crew

Nottingham (they were cool- Tash)

Best guest teacher

Theo Clinkard

Best in-house party

Craig Bary

Best dinner party

Theo and Ben's, Brighton

Best food poisoning of your collegues

Chan and McQueen

Best Emotional Gathering

Julian's room in Truro

Most inspirational in-house Audio

Dennis, QEH

energy, guys

2009-03-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

London was huge, for many reasons. I don't really know how to approach writing about it. There are so many people who worked so hard to present our show there (and in every venue) and it truely was a dream of Tanja's to bring a work to Queen Elizabeth Hall. It felt wonderful to present the piece, but it's very rough to do it without her physical presence. Her nephews and neice, Luc, Merlin and Alina bought flowers to us onstage. It was the first time I had seen them since last October, they are so marvellous, I could not have been more touched than seeing their gorgeous faces appear out of the auditorium darkness. Hanging out with Kurt, Gerlinde, Boris and Adeline is rare and special time for us dancers. Patrick and Astrid were missed at our party! The whole weekend was just so exhilarating. I am on an emotional 'come down'. Today I just needed to hide in my room. Luckily there is a gorgeous view out the window.

Here is a happy crew, on way to Truro. Lisa, Sol, Bryan, Paul, Anton, Kris. Man my friends are hot.

This week we had our brilliant, talented friend Bryan Mason join us on tour. He and partner Sophie Hyde (closer productions) are making a documentary about Tanja. They worked with her, Sol and lots of our dance collegues extensively and I feel really safe about them taking on this subject. I said to Bryan I would not have let anyone else follow me with a camera and ask me questions about Tanja, and I meant it. They are absolutly terrific film-makers, but from a personal point of view I know they love her and us, which is important to me. They will make the documentary a complex, fascinating and beautiful piece and I think their relatedness to the subject will be a benefit rather than a distortion on the subject.

Here she is then- the beautiful Tash, our ever diligent and delightfully light-hearted Production Manager, on as bus journey into the Shire.

Our Stage Manager, Blair has eluded me so far. I will stalk him and capture an image so you know who we are endlessly thanking all our working hours. I mean, the man has to wash our sweaty costumes for goodness sakes- obviously a medal is deserving.

I'm checking out to watch 'Grizzly Man' with some of the peeps in the hotel lounge.

The Wild Bull and Dance Breakthroughs

2009-03-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

The Wild Bull and Dance Breakthroughs

So
London
Really it has felt like the reason we came here
Or the most important reason
To take Tanja's work to a world capitol and hold it up
With all the respect and awe we have for it
And all the sweat and tears we have put in it
For the world to see.

Sometimes I wonder
How something like this actually gets accomplished
For the past two months I have been wondering how we were ever going to do justice to the work under such pressure
And certainly when the time comes the energy in the air is electric
On our opening night my heart started to race and I just knew that it wouldn't stop until the show was complete.

And how was it done ?
And how did we do ?

Ultimately I think all our perseverance and hard work paid off
I think the unquestionable ability of all the artistic team kicked in
I think the strength of the group as a whole lifted and supported us all (and continues to do so)
And I think we did it for the grace and spirit and pure golden creative energy goodness that was and continues to be our departed friend and one time young master, Tanja.
Someone asked Pauli what the show was like on Saturday and he said "A Wild Bull"
We all held on for our life
And gave it all the life we had
And it delivered us
And delivered for the audience one helluva ride

The next night we were ready
And out there
And incredibly calm
If the day before was all nervous energy
Sunday was a grounded focusness
So much so that in the preset of the show
The bit of loosely structured meandering we do as the audience comes in
The audience shut themselves up
eight hundred people collectively resolved to silence themselves a full two minutes before the show started in earnest
This has never happened before
And that focus and clarity that was apparent early on carried throughout the show
One of the most complete and aware performance experiences in my humble life
And lovely to be sharing it with friends and family and passers by
Too tremendous
And a bit of a dance breakthrough for more than one of us

So it was done
And the tour and world feels different now that we are on the other side of the mountain
What is left is to continue to be dedicated to the work
And to enjoy the ride and the time we have with each other in this crazy life

But what a mountain
And on the Sunday night
It felt like we got to the top
And the struggle ceased
And the view was

Clear and bright
And astonishing

Honourable mention as always
To Tash and Blair who jumped in a cab for three hours immediately after the show and started at the next venue.
Someone get those guys a fancy dress and a function at the southbank centre quick smart
Cause they deserve it with a vengeance
For the perseverance, artistry and humour with which they approach each and every task.

Big Love
xxHopen

Fabi

2009-03-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

Today we arrive in London and ship ourselves off to the physio for upkeep that is a necessity when you are putting such high demands on your body. Pauli has recommended a friend of his and sure enough he works wonders. Giving us just the lift we need on this middle and important stop here in the big smoke. Someone said on the bus today that we have been all referring to this time since rehearsals began. When we are in London ...... When we get to London we must remember to.........
And here we are.
It does feel different to any other time that I have been here.
Maybe it is because we have work to do.
Today in the taxi to the master physio we drove passed Trafalgar Square , Picadilly Circus and along Oxford Street and I thought "Well that's about as touristy as I'm going to get on this trip"
And I love it.
Tourism is like a rash that the western world spreads where ever it feels safe to tread.
The useless endless stream of half-wits that gather at
The Statue of Liberty
The Eifel Tower
Big Ben
The Golden Gate Bridge
The Sydney Opera House
such a futile pursuit , Tourism
Empty
With nothing offered to the visited culture but the dollar and the increasing desire for the dollar.
But to be working
To be showing
To be offering something up to this huge endless sea of city.
Feels great.
Makes me feel grounded (thanks Fabi)
Connected to this mad place and our senseless and sensational cullture.
It helps that I believe in the work.
That always helps.
And too, I believe, that the practise of dance is so inherantly physical.
The sheer force and effort and sweat that drives each day and performace
Is a tangable thing
As a dancer you are really pushing the space
Pushing the focus
And increasing in your ability to do so each day.(Thanks Fabi)
You are working
Like in a coal mine
Driving your body ever on
But asking it for grace as you do it
Construction work with a delicate asthetic
But encouraging growth in your muscles and psyche along the way
When to tense
What muslce to relax
And how to get the job done.

Big Crazy Full of Woder in London
xx Hopen

ps. Had some delicous glory this evening ;)

Pictoral Retrospective Part 2 - Newcastle was cold and fun

2009-02-24T10:45:00.000-08:00

Pictoral Retrospective Part 1 -Travel to the UK

2009-02-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

The Preset(s)

2009-02-19T04:14:00.000-08:00

I'm jealous of the guys. It must be such a special time, the preset. (Note: the preset is the half hour proir to the advertised show start time, and the male cast have already begun to work). They create the space in which the performance is going to sit. Outlining, weaving, breathing the blood into the cells of the air. i want to move freely and pour myself into that pace as well. But us girls, we huddle behind the wall, and try not to cast shadows while we stretch. I never know for sure what they make there, but I like how it sits in the room.

I'll tell you something else- the Presets are an australian electronic duo. Our sound check soundtrack. Music to make your day happy- talented guys.

Lots of interesting things have cropped up, in between the drives and the bundles of clothes. The clothes are just annoying, dirty or clean, and the drives are alll 'is jennifer anniston sexy?' am i smart for using soundwave in hangman and my goodness i want to lie on you so bad. I have eaten pizza 3 times, salmon 5 times and gin 10 times.

an interesting thing?

i searched for a place between focus and distraction. Ideally, i want to work at levels of total mental alertness at all times, but I really noticed in the first few days how the long haul travel affected my focus. i believe the modern term is 'jet lag'. it was hard to concentrate. So in stead of reflecting on how tired I was, how weird my body was, how I was behind my own plan, I committed that anytime I noticed I had drifted off, I would accept that focus was on it's way. Actually, this reminds me of 'the wadi'. Julyen Hamilton (google him) told me about the wadi, which is a dry riverbed. A place where, in a desert, it is more likely that water might arrive than just standing elsewhere on the dry plain. in relation to movement composition, he proposed that when you realise you have lost focus, or missed yourself perhaps, to get it back all you have to do is go to the wadi. You don't have to solve it immediately- just go to the place where it is more likely to be solved. And you will solve it immediately. The body is quick.

the shows are building and building- always building. I look forward to feeling stronger and more machine like everyday. Growing myself into the role with each note, each thought, each plie/releve.

Thankyou DTP for the great welcome in Coventry.

Thankyou Jean and Mike for visiting me in Newcastle. The fruit cake is so so good.

Thankyou Tim for saying hello, and I hope you post your show notes.

Thankyou Raj for the sleeve and great knife story.

Most importantly for me, to my injury- anything you can do, I can do better.

Amelia

2009-02-19T03:58:00.000-08:00

how

2009-02-13T01:04:00.000-08:00

the last time we performed 12th floor in Hobart '06

To bloglovers and the ardent followers of our travels who keep our seats and hearts warm back home.

It is a strange thing to be on stage.

And stranger still to be in a performance and then return to it three years later. In 2006 the show had an amazing impact on my life. The vigour and discipline , the comradery all had a huge impact on me.
But most importantly the work spoke to me , held me and allowed me to continue to discover intricacies within it.
Now in the summer/winter of 2009 we have returned to it.
And the world has changed.
Significantly
For us the most significant change is the departure of our director and leader.
An event that shook us all to the very core.
And changed the way we look at the world and ourselves.
So strange to be in the work without it’s creator.
So strange to be playing the movement and the narrative that we played before.
Exactly the same movement.
Exactly the same story.
Fighting and working hard to present the work as it was .
Seeking and respecting every detail of what was.
Challenging our memories and bodies to retain the integrity of the show.
Making no changes to the structure or the tone of the piece.
Presenting what we had in 2006 .
Without the most important element.
The instigator and inspiration.

Struggling to present a world that has not changed since 2006.
And living in a world where everything has.

And what strikes me in that is that it holds.
The work holds.
With all the changes in the world.
The work holds its potency and relevance.

And most poignantly the work holds the tragedy that followed it.
In an almost prophetic way it speaks of escape and transcendence.
It follows its protagonist in and out of a complex existence.
Through ups and downs and finally upwards and out towards ……..
What ?
I don’t know.

But I do know that as soon as I heard the news about our loved Tanja I thought about this work.
I thought about the story of the work.
And the potency of her life.
Together.

Now you can call this misplaced emotion or the machinations of one hitherto inexperienced in grief.
And I am not trying to sanctify or mystify an extraordinary being and life.
More so , I am rediscovering the fact that every bit of life that Tanja had, everything she knew and all that she was, is in her work.
And I will venture further to say that every work that she made and ,I would gather, that she was in (although I sadly only had the opportunity to see one , the astounding ‘Just for Show’) the same is true.

But her story is in her work. Her essence.
Is there in the works that she poured herself into.
And it is the product of this intense life of creation that leaves me with the feeling that I am playing out a tragically beautiful and disturbing premonition.
Night after night.
And town after town.

And so ?
What’s to be done ?
What’s to be made of all this ?

For me I continue to receive inspiration from Tanja in her death as I did in her life.
The inspiration to fill life and work with all and everything you are
and all that you have
and all that you want
and all that you worry for
and all that you love
and all that you hope to be

Now , especially in the arts, everybody goes around saying

be in the moment
live in the now

And it is a worthy sentiment
There is no doubt
But I always wondered how
How?
It’s all very well to say it but how do you do it?
I never got that bit
Or it seemed like that was the bit that you were supposed to discover for yourself
But without it the adage becomes an order
Or a bizarre and empty statement of intent
Or patronising , frankly

Working with Tanja
Being in her work and world
And , I believe, experiencing it as an audience
You get a sense of how
To be present.

How to continue to give of everything that you have with all you have.

Tanja
Continuing to show me how
To be
Driven and courageous
Present
And in the now

Then and now

Peace out hommies
Hopen xx (from the bus on the way to Newcastle)

floor series - rehearsals '09

2009-02-13T00:51:00.000-08:00

what dance means to me .........

2009-02-12T02:32:00.000-08:00

to the blogosphere, the dance world and the universe at large

If my contemporary and friend Amelia will chose to offer insight and wisdom and theory and insight on this blog then i suppose my job is to give you some gossip plain and true .
Just kidding.
Well maybe just a bit won't hurt.

When i first performed this piece with Tanja and the guys in 2006 I remember feeling like I was a contestant in a show that was a mix between 'the biggest loser' (a weight loss reality show here in oz) and 'dancing with the stars' (now don't pretend you don't know what that one is). In this show I was the only contestant and I had to train and work with some of the world's best dancers every day and then put on a show. And in the television ratings of my life this particular show was a huge hit.

Up to this point I had only ever done a couple of dance classes at Drama school. The jive. The waltz. But to tell you the truth I wasn't really paying that much attention.

I thought that dance was ..... Well I'm not entirely sure if I thought about it at all. I never saw it and I certainly never considered myself a dancer, apart from when I was cutting the rug at parties or what have you.

The closest I ever got to dance was watching my sister perform at her tap and jazz eistedfords when I was a kid. Big epic concerts that went from 4:30 in the afternoon all the way through to 11pm just to get through all the students.
I would sit there and make jokes with my dad, and gush with pride when my sister came on and at the end, when it was all done, would always be left with this feeling that I wanted to try it. But I never did.

Fast forward more than a decade and I am in a company of dancers touring to the U to the K.

How did this happen?

Stay tuned to find out............

big love to any and all

hopen

ps. will try for some pics in my next post

an extreme sports style challenge

2009-02-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

I am not currently in the habit of posting writing, pictures, sound or anything else onto the “world wide web” or into “cyber space”, as I like to call the internet, in my own little hark back style of humour. I’m not sure why but I find it a little funny, just to hint at an old fashioned disconnection from the deep social position internet communication has taken in my broad community.

I told everyone in the studio on our first day together, Tuesday, that I wanted to use this page to make a connection with people who come to our show, or can’t come to our show, or want to read about theatre practices. I don’t want to irregularly contribute something inane like “man, I love this cast, we rocked it tonight. It’s so cool working with my friends”. But I guess only time will tell. I’m not some sort of genius. For example, just now I started to read an essay entitled “What is an Event?” and I got as far as:
Chaos does not exist; it is an abstraction because it is inseparable from a screen that makes some- thing - something rather than nothing - emerge from it. Chaos would be a pure Many, a purely disjunctive diversity, while the something is a One, not a pregiven unity, but instead the indeﬁnite article that designates a certain singularity. How can the Many become the One? A great screen has to be placed in between them. Like a formless elastic membrane, an electromagnetic ﬁeld, or the receptacle of the Timaeus, the screen makes something issue from chaos, and even if this something differs only slightly.

And now I am writing to you instead. I will warn you I can be fairly sure the quality of my posts over the next few months will vary. I will do my best to be fascinating. As Sol reminded us all, what goes up stays up. Words, online.

I could be seeing this as an extreme sports style challenge, to put back into perfect form the most difficult work I have ever danced and have not rehearsed for two years in nine days. But I have to say, we are feeling like an unstoppable room of disciplined warrior beauties. When I look around me, I’m so impressed that any fearful notion I will fail is disappeared.

So, after the second day, which was today, I am sore and tired (dancers catch cry) but just so happy. I find it fulfilling to spend my time making more space for Tanja’s work to shine. And I can’t believe how much I love working so hard with these, my amazing friends.