Phase Two:

Rehearsal and Performance

The process of “setting” the music comes from intense discussion as to “what might be” into the reality of movement. Though the choreography stems from the music, every slight refinement of movement adjusts the music, but once you rehearse live, everything settles out, albeit with some intense discussions of how the live “feel” seems different, and every tempo must now be precise and emotional.

Two videos from rehearsal mirror the same sections in live performance from the premiere of this work at Alvin Ailey.

Vashti's Entrance into Trapped

The Choosing

The live performance had 650 people over 4 shows come and watch this work. We had a few friends come early on in the process and comment on exactly what you see here, and make slight modifications in tone, movement, or feeling. The fun part is changing a tempo from 60 to 66, or extending an arm phrase to match with the fading note, or even better–an accident that seems intentional just based on the luck of how the instincts of the movement match the changes in music.