iLAB 2006 The Language of the Listening Body is a collaboration between
Choreographer Hope Mohr and Composer and Acoustic Ecologist Michelle
Nagai. The residency was held September 11-23, 2006 in NYC.
The residency investigated an active listening and moving practice
within the urban soundscape. The public was invited to participate
in soundwalks on Saturday, September 16, 2006 in the Times Square
area and Saturday, September 23, 2006 in Long Island City.
Before each walk, iLAND artists introduced participants to a listening-based
movement language. The group then embarked on a walk to explore
listening and movement in public space. After the walk, participants
had an opportunity to share their experiences in a facilitated
discussion. These were free events open to the public.
Grand Central Soundwalk Workshop, September 16, 2006, 1-3
pm; Bryant Park, Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain, Western
entrance at 6th Avenue and 41st Street, New York City, NY.
This soundwalk followed a route through Bryant Park and east through
Grand Central Station. From there, we continued east on 42nd Street
to 217 E. 42nd Street.
The discussion with the participants and special guest Barbara
Dilley, originator of the practice of Contemplative Movement,
moderated by E.J. McAdams of NYC Audubon, followed the soundwalk.
Location: Chashama, 217 E. 42nd Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.
Sounds
Click
here to listen to the Grand Central Station Soundwalk discussion
at Chashama (Audio by Michelle Nagai).
Click
here to listen to the Grand Central Station Soundwalk discussion
"Feedback" at Chashama (Audio by Michelle Nagai).
Long Island City Soundwalk Workshop, Saturday, September
23, 2006, 1-3 pm; The Chocolate Factory, 5-49 49th Avenue, Long
Island City, NY, 718-482-7069.
This guided soundwalk followed a route around the Queens neighborhood
of Long Island City, which features a diversity of sound environments,
including industrial zones, the entrance to the Queens-Midtown
tunnel, residential streets and a riverside park.
The discussion with the participants followed the soundwalk, moderated
by Jennifer Monson, Artistic Director of iLAND. Location: The
Chocolate Factory.
Videos
Grand Central Station and Long Island City Soundwalks
The residency with Mohr and Nagai facilitated an intensive investigation
of listening and moving in the urban soundscape through a two-week
studio process with a core group of invited dance artists as collaborator-participants.
The primary goal of the residency was to support an active, physical
experience of the urban soundscape among participants and the
general public. From their respective disciplines of dance and
sound, collaborators Mohr and Nagai investigated a collaborative
process that integrated auditory and kinetic awareness practices
as the basis for experiencing the urban environment. The residency
investigated how listening and moving interact and transform each
other in distinctly different acoustic environments in New York
City.
A number of noteworthy special guests participated in the residency,
including Deep Listening founder Pauline Oliveros and Barbara
Dilley, originator of the practice of Contemplative Movement.
Several specialists in the environmental field served as consultants
including Arline Bronzaft (Mayor's Council on the Environment,
Noise Commission); and E.J. McAdams (NYC Audubon).
Participants:
Lead Artists: Hope Mohr and Michelle Nagai
Dancers: Biba Bell, Lise Brenner, Robbie Cook, Laura Hymers, Alejandra
Martorell, Yves Musard, Rebecca Wender.
Collaborator Bios: Hope Mohr has had an extensive performance career in the
dance companies of Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Douglas Dunn
and others. An emerging choreographer, Mohr is currently working
as a Guest Artist at Stanford University. She has taught movement
to professionals, adults and children in many contexts, including
London School of Contemporary Dance, P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, the
ODC School, and the Trisha Brown Studio. In addition to her dance
career, Mohr has a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a longstanding
commitment to environmental and social justice work.
Composer and acoustic ecologist Michelle Nagai has been
organizing and leading soundwalks for family, friends and the
general public since 2001. She is one of the founders of the American
Society for Acoustic Ecology and an active participant in NYC's
sound-ecology-noise awareness community. In 2005, Nagai received
a teaching certificate in Deep Listening from the Deep Listening
Institute. Her solo work has been presented throughout the US,
Canada and Europe and has been supported by the American Composers
Forum, Harvestworks, the Jerome and McKnight Foundations, Meet
the Composer and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Contact:
Michelle Nagai, Composer and Acoustic Ecologist
Email:
Jennifer Monson, Artistic Director, iLAND, Inc.
Phone: (917) 860-8239
Email: