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The Further Adventures of Claire
Some relevant words from Miguel Gutierrez on the subject of touring:
"i feel incredibly lucky to have had these experiences. touring makes you a better dancer, plain and simple. putting yourself in front of an audience that is not full of your best friends, your best friend's unwitting co-workers, ex-es, lovers, soon to be lovers, old dance school friends, relatives, and well, the other local dancers who are there to appreciate or secretly compare or disdain, and their best friends, best friend's co-workers, etc. forces you to look at why you do what you do, and you learn to trust yourself and what you'velearned and you learn to trust the work and the people you're performing it with. this kind of experience is absolutely invaluable, and quite frankly, just doesn't happen in the same way if you never leave home.
it's fantastic to see other places, be in them, realize that the world is bigger than you and your immediate sphere, to see that other people speak differently, eat differently, construct their lives differently, and see art differently than you. i remember the first few times performing in europe the utter dejection i would feel when i'd go to the theater's cafe after a show and hopelessly waiting for someone, anyone, to come over and tell me and the group how great they thought we were. well, it never happened. turns out in other parts of the world they don't feel that blessedly american need to approve and affirm immediately. comments like "great job!" "beautiful dancing!" "thanks so much for coming here!" "you're incredible" "you're so flexible!" ne'er so much as were whispered in my direction when i toured as a dancer in europe.
Also, tour in other countries i was astounded by the layperson's lack of fear to analyze, intuit and see. you never heard the oft-spoken "well, i don't really know how to talk about dance" a sentence which cripples american audiences who demand and participate in their own willful ignorance. but that's another panel.
two other super important benefits emerged for me as a dancer on these tours. first, i was able to see a lot of work from other places. while the people i toured with took advantage of the comforts of the hotel beds and local cuisine and underwear garment shops, i dutifully made my way to performances, jet lagged and bleary-eyed, as much hoping, i think, to see cute guys dancing as i was to see good work. well i succeeded in seeing both. i was already making my own work, although on a small, mixed evening here and there sort of way. but seeing all of this work also proved invaluably inspiring to me, as i saw how artists in other places were tackling questions of content, form, cultural significance, aesthetics and specific questions regarding how you perform."
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