MAU: Research - Choreographer's Handbook (notes)

Notes from 'A Choreographer's Handbook' by Jonathan Burrows, one of the UK's leading choreographers.

the philosopher Susanne Langer has said 'The primary illusion of dance is a virtual realm of Power - not actual, physically exerted power, but appearances of influence and agency created by virtual gesture'
the space of dance also has this virtual quality - the placement of a person on a stage can approximate to a narrative or emotional force, a dancer can render a small space infinite

Performance space

how you handle the space in which you perform is part of the contract you make with the audience - a more relaxed space invites a more relaxed gaze while clean surroundings demand sharper attention (though the reverse can be true).
your surroundings are in dialogue with, and affected by, the performances that take place within them.
if in a found environment, your raise references, meanings and questions in addition to those belonging to your performance - what dialogue can your material have with this space you have found? - can the material you make come from this environment itself? - or can it provide a contrast/friction to the context
the space itself is not the performance

the relationship with the audience is a circular thing - I give them clues as to how they might sit and they, in turn, give me permission to relax and do best what I've come to do
sometimes of course, it is possible to use the situation of the unreality of a theatrical stage to become something extraordinary. This is one of the great pleasures of performing or watchin performance - that suspension of disbelief/to suspend doubt.
our thinking about direction is in constant negotiation with compass points and square rooms. The audience is usually in front of you and facing them is one possibility but not the only one, and it isn't a guarantee of communication
another way to meet the audience is to confront them. The strongest confrontation is gently conscious of its purpose. Confrontation does not guarantee communicaton any more than facing the front...
the gentle aim of the following principles, written by the composer Christian Wolff, is to liberate both audience and performers:

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