Choreographic Approaches

Talking Moves

In this episode we talk to Claire Cunningham and Jorge Crecis about choreographic approaches.

The life of a choreographer is a complex one and on this podcast the reliance artists have on portfolio careers has come up in conversation a number of times. So we invited two inspirational and entrepreneurial choreographers to come and talk to us who have both branched out into a myriad of directions and in doing so forged their own unique aesthetic, process and mindset.

We begin by discussing the breadth of careers both Claire and Jorge have enjoyed and as part of that discussion find out a bit more about the things that make them tick, how they get ideas and most importantly how they record and remember them given that dance is sometimes a hard thing to pin down.

Jorge and Claire then talk about aesthetic and how that has, for both of them, become a by-product of a much deeper process of the making journey. We reflect upon Jorge’s work and whether or not that stretches people to their limits and he makes the ever so valid point that whilst it does, it does so within a container of safety. This is echoed by Claire who also looks imaginatively at her own body and her ‘four feet’ (referring to her body and crutches) and the way in which she works with those crutches in a process of care and careful attention.

Both have, coincidently, made works called 12 (Twelve) and so we use those works to delve deeper into the processes used in making them. For Claire this was a rare opportunity to work with other dancers, rather than as solo work, and she shares the thoughtful ways in which she approached the making of that work with both disabled and non-disabled dancers. Interestingly we discover that they both use play, rules and problem solving to create structures within which to make the works they make.

Looking beyond the making process, we then explore other areas of the dance landscape that they inhabit… we talk about Claire’s Choreography of Care symposium planned for next year and Jorge’s methodology Towards Vivencia which supports dancers to stay at peak performance which can now be accessed online.

Finally we touch upon the big ideas that move them, the imprint they want to leave on the world and the questions they have of it.

Talking Moves is a Greenwich Dance production
Presented by Melanie Precious
Production by Carmel Smith, Lucy White and Melanie Precious

Recording date: Thursday 29 April 2021