Bill T. Jones: The dancer, the singer, the cellist … and a moment of creative magic
Pick a cliché — it might be true:
Some creative moments exist out of the sheer courage of the performers: independent, present in the moment and seemingly fearless, this trio comprised of dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones, vocalist Somi and cellist Joshua Roman take inspiration from Isadora Duncan and in “The Red Circle and the Blue Curtain”, improvising something unique and powerful. It’s a short piece, but so fascinating to watch creative collaboration in action. What if more live performance were like this?
The better question: What if more performers were willing to take such risks? Even prepared classical works benefit enormously from a performance approach that is informed by improvisation. This study from the UK journal Music Performance Research offers some fascinating specifics, and is well worth a careful read. The study also found stronger reactions from listeners when performers were in an extemporaneous frame of mind, which suggests that the communication between stage and seats is quite real.
Where can you stretch yourself this month?
Do you know TED? Our once-in-a-Tuesday series features selected videos from TED.com, where thousands of “TED Talks” cover divergent topics in technology, education, art, design, music and more, with a profound impact on thought leaders and artists all over the world. Learn more by reading the introduction to our first post in the series.
Go to the original TED page for this presentation
Read more:
Coming May 31st:
Outside Music, Inside Voices: Dialogues on Improvisation, Spirituality and Creative Music
by Garrison Fewell
Currently available for pre-order
As Herbie Hancock noted in his endorsement, “Garrison Fewell has written a brilliant reflection on creativity and spirituality, delving into the deep relationship between these two subjects that spark the explorations of many pioneers in avant-garde jazz music. The level of detail here is so compelling that it encourages much more than just a single reading of this book.”
