Interview
Consenses Interview with Sally Taylor:
What was your first reaction to the song? (thoughts, images, emotions, memories, tastes, smells etc?)
It was neutral in the beginning. I did not have any expectation but I was curious of what were you were going to send me and the whole process. After listening the song I did not have emotions but I had the image of a country place, a woman and a man, a house, a tree, but very American picture. No country from other place or country.
What was this song about for you? How did you express this in your dance?
It was about a woman and a man’s life. A relationship , sometimes good sometimes no so good, but all they know is that life and they do not have any desire for anything else. The dance is more express in an abstract way. No woman is present but the essence on a life goes sometimes represented by the chair or sometimes the chair is the relationship.
You mentioned a red couch at one point. What part of your dance came to you first?
Yes I was trying to picture the best way to represent the picture in my head. The red couch was because there is one at the studio were we rehearse and I felt the red color could be a good touch to the image with the man seating on it jeans and maybe a white no sleeves t- shit what they called wife bitter t shirt. It is a little symbol and a little contrast with the song since I felt the woman had a strong role in the relationship. The picture of a man who is very macho but at the same time has a very humble side and he loves her over everything.This short choreography was done from beginning to the end. This time the image came first so I went from the beginning.
What was your process?
To find a way to represent a relationship with only myself as a interpreter, was the challenge even if it was in an abstract way. The rest is not so hard for me, movement comes inspire by the essence of the song itself and then to find an ending that makes sense to me. As I mention the life of these characters in my head was simple and “normal” but at the se time in the end there is a open eye image were sometimes life brings surprises and can change that routine or cycle.
How do you normally choreograph? How was this experience different?
I choreograph in many different ways according of the artists in collaboration. Inspire sometimes by them mainly, or sometimes by the music, or the idea or by just the movement or an event.
The way I work is usually I prepare what I call vocabulary and then we all get familiar with it and then we all have a conversation with it. This conversation is the choreography, were everyone has same vocabulary but different ways to say it, levels, tonalities, personality, etc the. I become a director of the conversation . Usually I do not dance my own work so this small work was done by myself as an interpreter since I did not want to involve people and have to fix schedules and rehearsals.But it gave me a good challenge to represent what I want all by myself.
The difference also with this work was the process of contact. I usually encounter the artists, the composer, the singer, the producer; this time I did it with everyone images of people that were create in my head , that includes you. A very interesting project but at the same time no human contact yet.