{"id":254,"date":"2013-07-26T10:15:09","date_gmt":"2013-07-26T10:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/?p=254"},"modified":"2013-07-26T10:22:38","modified_gmt":"2013-07-26T10:22:38","slug":"qualities-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/2013\/07\/qualities-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Qualities, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

For\u00a0good or\u00a0ill, ‘quality’ (or\u00a0‘qualities’) is the\u00a0term and\u00a0idea I\u00a0can’t stop thinking about this year. Lodged somewhere in\u00a0my\u00a0memory is my\u00a0slightly perplexed seventeen year old self reading Robert Pirsig’s Zen and\u00a0the\u00a0Art of\u00a0Motorcycle Maintenance<\/em>. I\u00a0haven’t returned to\u00a0the\u00a0book in\u00a0the\u00a0intervening decades, but what my\u00a0memory (and\u00a0a\u00a0brief dip into Wikipedia) reminds me, is that, leaving the\u00a0two-wheeled travelogue to\u00a0one side, it is an\u00a0enquiry into quality.<\/p>\n

At\u00a0the\u00a0very beginning of\u00a0her first rehearsal, Hsiao Mei told her company that she just wanted to\u00a0watch them work for\u00a0a\u00a0while, in\u00a0order to\u00a0get a\u00a0sense of\u00a0the\u00a0quality of\u00a0their movement, and\u00a0of\u00a0their personalities. I\u00a0doubt that such propositions are all that unusual in\u00a0early rehearsals amongst new companies, and\u00a0given the\u00a0international and\u00a0inter-linguistic context, I\u00a0also suspect that ‘quality’, ‘movement’ and\u00a0‘personality’ have some intellectual and\u00a0embodied purchase across these differing milieux<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0480\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Quality, Pirsig suggested, is like the\u00a0leading edge of\u00a0a\u00a0moving freight-train. It’s not a\u00a0property of\u00a0the\u00a0engine, the\u00a0cars, or\u00a0their contents in\u00a0anyway, but pertains to\u00a0the\u00a0movement which they effect together. It is speeding, racing, pushing etc. These qualities are not possessed by\u00a0the\u00a0train exactly, but can be discerned in\u00a0what it is doing, actively. Similarly, the\u00a0quality of\u00a0a\u00a0dancer’s movement is not exactly in, or\u00a0possessed by\u00a0her body, but forms its leading edge as\u00a0she moves.<\/p>\n

\"_AWL2860\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Similarly, it’s not in<\/em> space at\u00a0any given point, but unfolding through it. I\u00a0spent some time on\u00a0Wednesday in\u00a0Su Weichia’s rehearsal once more, and\u00a0he is working very hard on\u00a0drawing out particular qualities from his dancers’ movement. Five young women standing in\u00a0a\u00a0line, push their hips sideways to\u00a0the\u00a0limit of\u00a0their extension, twist their torsos, back up and\u00a0over them, their arms turning back around in\u00a0the\u00a0opposite direction again. It’s somewhat reminiscent of\u00a0the\u00a0plastiques <\/em>developed by\u00a0the\u00a0Polish Laboratory Theatre in\u00a0the\u00a01960s in\u00a0terms of\u00a0the\u00a0extremity of\u00a0the\u00a0turns and\u00a0extensions used, but the\u00a0quality<\/em> of\u00a0the\u00a0movement is markedly different. It’s more ephemeral, and\u00a0smoke like, in\u00a0the\u00a0way that it shifts through space, barely punctuating it. It doesn’t point to\u00a0a\u00a0location, and\u00a0thereby create some sort of\u00a0mise-en-scene<\/em>. Instead, it almost seems to\u00a0move us free of\u00a0location and\u00a0draw our attention to\u00a0movement per se.<\/p>\n

We are of\u00a0course, creatures of\u00a0a\u00a0world that is constantly on\u00a0the\u00a0move, often at\u00a0scales and\u00a0dynamics beyond our perception\u00a0\u2014 luminous and\u00a0tectonic movement being the\u00a0two most obvious that spring to\u00a0mind. However, Western philosophy has preponderantly sought to\u00a0outline (and\u00a0thereby fix) loci and\u00a0objects for\u00a0the\u00a0purposes of\u00a0analysis and\u00a0inspection, whereas that pesky movement just keeps on\u00a0moving, never stopping to\u00a0tell or\u00a0reveal what it is. (The\u00a0obsession with ‘is’ is more or\u00a0less the\u00a0case in\u00a0point. How long have we wrangled with the\u00a0notion of\u00a0Being?) A\u00a0way out of\u00a0this bind is suggested by\u00a0the\u00a0French sinologist and\u00a0philosopher Francois Jullien through the\u00a0example of\u00a0melting snow\u00a0\u2014 it is a\u00a0process, rather than a\u00a0thing. ‘Meltingness’ is a\u00a0property of\u00a0the\u00a0snow only in\u00a0the\u00a0movement of\u00a0its transformation from frozen to\u00a0liquid water. Strictly speaking then, its not\u00a0 property of\u00a0the\u00a0snow at\u00a0all. In\u00a0recognising a\u00a0transformation like ‘melting’, Jullien argues, we cannot cling to\u00a0the\u00a0idea of\u00a0a\u00a0permanent identity (eg. snow that is frozen). The\u00a0world is not substance, but transformation, and\u00a0quality does not belong to\u00a0any thing or\u00a0person, but is manifest by\u00a0them, ineluctably, as\u00a0a\u00a0process of\u00a0change. I\u00a0find this incredibly hard to\u00a0write but am excited by\u00a0the\u00a0prospect of\u00a0a\u00a0series of\u00a0choreographies that appear less concerned with how a\u00a0dancer moves from ‘here’ to\u00a0‘there’ or\u00a0from ‘this’ to\u00a0‘that’ but are content instead to\u00a0keep company with the\u00a0transition itself.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For\u00a0good or\u00a0ill, ‘quality’ (or\u00a0‘qualities’) is the\u00a0term and\u00a0idea I\u00a0can’t stop thinking about this year. Lodged somewhere in\u00a0my\u00a0memory is my\u00a0slightly perplexed seventeen year old self reading Robert Pirsig’s Zen and\u00a0the\u00a0Art of\u00a0Motorcycle Maintenance. I\u00a0haven’t returned to\u00a0the\u00a0book in\u00a0the\u00a0intervening decades, but what my\u00a0memory (and\u00a0a\u00a0brief dip… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8mnDM-46","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":220,"url":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/2013\/07\/qualities-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":254,"position":0},"title":"Qualities (Part 1)","author":"Martin Welton","date":"23 July 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It's now Day Three of\u00a0rehearsals, and, impressively, in\u00a0the\u00a0studios I\u00a0visited today, ideas are taking shape and\u00a0companies are coming together. I\u00a0spent some time today observing rehearsals of\u00a0Su Weichia, Riccardo Buscarini, and\u00a0Zeng Huangxing. The\u00a0choreographies are already looking quite different (as\u00a0one might expect), but I\u00a0wanted to\u00a0take a\u00a0moment in\u00a0this posting to\u00a0reflect on\u00a0some similarities amongst them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General posts"","block_context":{"text":"General posts","link":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/category\/general_posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_1950","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1950-300x224.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":945,"url":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/2013\/08\/going-with-the-flow\/","url_meta":{"origin":254,"position":1},"title":"Going with the flow","author":"Sanjoy Roy","date":"7 August 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On\u00a0Monday evening I\u00a0went to\u00a0Riccardo Buscarini\u2019s rehearsal. It was rather magical, actually. Riccardo has five male dancers, two from the\u00a0UK, two from Taiwan, one from Beijing. The\u00a0interpreter, Soraya, is not a\u00a0dancer but clearly has some experience of\u00a0dance, and\u00a0she can\u2019t stop herself from joining in\u00a0the\u00a0warm-up. I\u00a0think that helps. The\u00a0group (if you discount\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General posts"","block_context":{"text":"General posts","link":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/category\/general_posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":611,"url":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/2013\/08\/reflections-on-2nd-august\/","url_meta":{"origin":254,"position":2},"title":"Reflections on 2nd August","author":"Rebecca Loukes","date":"3 August 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Ted talked on\u00a0his post yesterday about the\u00a0terms of\u00a0engagement which we are using and\u00a0are in\u00a0the\u00a0process of\u00a0defining here in\u00a0London. \u00a0We began Friday morning with one such very rich discussion about the\u00a0word 'cosmopolitanism'. \u00a0It derives from Greek cosmos (the\u00a0universe) and\u00a0polis (city) and\u00a0it is said that when asked where he came from, Greek Philosopher,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General posts"","block_context":{"text":"General posts","link":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/category\/general_posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":377,"url":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/2013\/07\/language-and-beyond\/","url_meta":{"origin":254,"position":3},"title":"Language and beyond","author":"Steffi Sachsenmaier","date":"27 July 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Since one of\u00a0my\u00a0tasks at\u00a0this particular Artscross event is to\u00a0focus on\u00a0\u2018language\u2019 as\u00a0part of\u00a0a\u00a0group of\u00a0academics, my\u00a0attention has been drawn on\u00a0the\u00a0sorts of\u00a0languages that are being used in\u00a0the\u00a0rehearsal spaces. In\u00a0many instances I\u00a0have witnessed a\u00a0\u2018searching\u2019 for\u00a0the\u00a0\u2018right\u2019 words or\u00a0expressions by\u00a0choreographers and\u00a0dancers, when working a\u00a0movement out together. What is the\u00a0word that will make the\u00a0dancers understand what the\u00a0movement\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General posts"","block_context":{"text":"General posts","link":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/category\/general_posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_0521","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_0521-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1002,"url":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/2013\/08\/the-flow-of-dance\/","url_meta":{"origin":254,"position":4},"title":"The Flow of Dance","author":"CHEN Ya-ping","date":"8 August 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Coming two days late into the\u00a0ArtsCross project this year, I\u00a0found myself in\u00a0late stage of\u00a0the\u00a0rehearsal process. Steps or\u00a0movement sequences seemed more or\u00a0less set in\u00a0most pieces. Choreographers and\u00a0dancers were focusing on\u00a0details of\u00a0spacing, texture of\u00a0movement, subtleties in\u00a0transition, as\u00a0well as\u00a0emotional tones that would evoke imageries and\u00a0imaginations. In\u00a0this particular circumstance, what strikes me as\u00a0the\u00a0most beautiful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General posts"","block_context":{"text":"General posts","link":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/category\/general_posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":174,"url":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/2013\/07\/beginnings\/","url_meta":{"origin":254,"position":5},"title":"Beginnings…","author":"Steffi Sachsenmaier","date":"23 July 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday was my\u00a0first day of\u00a0watching rehearsals, and\u00a0for\u00a0most groups it was their second day into the\u00a0work. I\u00a0left in\u00a0the\u00a0evening with a\u00a0variety of\u00a0very touching impressions, of\u00a0people from different places getting to\u00a0know each other. When I\u00a0entered the\u00a0room of\u00a0Beijing choreographer Zeng Huangxing's rehearsal, I\u00a0was struck by\u00a0the\u00a0quietness he had created in\u00a0the\u00a0room. The\u00a0six dancers were paired up,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General posts"","block_context":{"text":"General posts","link":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/category\/general_posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_0473","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_0473-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":338,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions\/338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}