Douglas Dunn And Trisha Brown Essay, Research Paper

Douglas Dunn and Trisha Brown

Trisha Brown was born in 1936, in Aberdeen, Washington. She studied with Anna

Halprin, another famous dancer, while a dance major at Mills College. Trisha Brown went

to New York in 1960, and in 1962 became a founding member of the Judson Dance

Theater. A few years later she organized her own company, which was incorporated in

1970. In that year she also became a founding member of the Grand Union, an

improvisational dance theater company.

In her dances, Brown uses ordinary movements in extraordinary circumstances.

She works in structured improvisation and describes her choreographic approach as

similar to that of a brick-layer with a sense of humor .

One of Trisha Brown s first dances was called Falling Duets (1968). This piece

demands alertness, ingenuity and good reflexes as two performers take turns falling and

catching eachother.

` One of Trisha Brown s techniques is called accumulation .This is dancing like

adding links to a chain. Each movement is a new link and then the whole sequence is

repeated again from the beginning. Later on the dancer rotated gradually, eventually

making a 360 degree turn. The dancer also performed the chain in different positions

(propped up against the wall, on the floor). Then, sometimes, she would de-accumulate

by eliminating movements from the beginning of the phrase with each repetition.

In 1971 Brown s Roof Piece , another famous piece, spread out over a twelve

block radius in lower Manhattan. Stationed on rooftops, the dancers relayed movements

from one to another trying to reproduce them with the least amount of distortion. The

unusual locations in her dances were used because they had effects on not only the

choreography but on the audiences perception as well. From 1968-1972, Brown

experimented with equipment pieces . These enabled her to exploit neglected

performance spaces, such as walls and ceilings. Supported by ropes, pulleys, mountain

climbing gear and other things, the dancers strove to maintain a normal upright walking

position. Many viewers said they felt spatially disoriented, as though they were looking

down from a tall building onto the sidewalk. Two of her most famous pieces are Man

Walking Down the Side of the Wall (1970) and Walking on the Wall (1971).

In 1976 Trisha Brown performed her piece Structured Pieces V , in France at the

Fetes Musicales de-la Sante-Baume. This performance featured another technique of hers.

This technique is sort of like Functional Movement. It s a logical progression of

movements were one follows the other. First A then B then c . This dance included no

big jump, instead it had little flashes of eccentricity along the way. The movements go

backwards as well as forwards. She has a lot of points in her phrases ( sitting , standing)

that are possible intersections for other movements in different directions. She unlike many

choreographers would verbally interact with her dancers telling them to move back , go

forward , right , left and so forth. This way she puts her dancers in sync with eachother.

As I stated in the first paragraph, she worked with a lot of structured

improvisation. This means that she would tell her dancers a phrase to do, like 3 jumps,

2hops and a fall down, but wouldn t give them the beats or the order to do it in. This way

she had a vary of the same steps. This technique was done in her dance Pamplona

Stones . This dance was brought about through an imaginary dialogue in drawings. It was

very dramatic. She looked for dancers with a natural, well coordinated, instinctive ability

to move. Then the whole dance was open. Each dancer was different with different

personalities and posture. So each gesture, although the same, had a different look and

effect on the dance as a whole. A famous quote of hers relating to this dance and it s

technique was I start with a structure and make movement to fit my concept .

Another great choreographer, with similar techniques to Trisha Brown, is Douglas

Dunn. He was born in 1942 , in Palo Alto, California. As a child he was an athlete and

studied ballet. He went to New York to dance in 1968. He performed with Yvonne Rainer

and group from 1968 to 1970. In 1969 he also started dancing with Merce Cunningham

and dance company. He was there till 1973. Douglas Dunn was also a founding member of

the Grand Union, and performed with it from 1970 to 1975. In 1971 he began his own

choreography, working both independently, and in collaboration with others. He

performed solo in the US and in Europe for a while.

When Douglas Dunn arrived in New York, he heard of auditions for a dance

company. This was Yvonne Rainers company, and he was exactly what they were looking

for. Yvonne Rainer had a bizarre technique. This was to dance naturally. She would take

everyday movements and actions and make them a dance. Merce Cunningham, another of

Duns teachers was very into odd scenery and plain, bright costumes. Luckily for the world

Douglas Dunn put these two together. His dances are inventive and creative. They

challenge the dancers to discover new ways of moving through everyday motion. His

scenery reflects many of Cunninghams previous scenery s. Douglas Dunn, till today also

still dances with his company.

One of Douglas Dun s most famous dances is Lazy Made . This dance has a total

of nine dancers. Dunn would work privately for hours with each dancer, creating five to

ten minutes of material on each person. Then he would create duets and trios with him and

several of the dancers. In his dances, he used different dancers, with different techniques

and personalities. These are obvious when they dance together. Dunn, taking after

Cunningham , made a solo for two women who had never met before. He then made them

both perform this same solo, on the same dancing space at the same time. They had a

strong reaction to eachother.

Dunn once said I focus on the person and not just physically; I try to generate

imagery off paying attention to them. Dunn doesn t make a dance until he meets his

dancers. He uses imagery to work. He sees the person and makes a dance to fit them.

Recently a short stumpy woman came to him. When he looked at her he saw alot of

movements in second position. Then he made this woman s phrase. Dunn likes to use

short phrases that are suddenly stopped. Each phrase is a little rhythmatic invention which

stops so something else can begin. He uses alot of physical imagery as I ve mentioned.

This is dance movement imagery as well as mime imagery. He doesn t have a personal

dance style.

Douglas Dun s most recent dance is called Cocca Mocca . The dance is

presented by Danspace Project. It depicts utopian cooperative living through the

intermingling of four distinct trios of dancers. The dance begins with each trio

demonstrating its individual identity. The first group is Dunn and two princely young men.

They are wearing ankle bells and lavender Indian-esque costumes. The phrase is made up

of elegant spins, swirling arms, and balletic leaps. The second trio is made up of women in

ragged tights oddly bound by unattractive straps. Their phrase is made up of prances,

Chaines, and dainty runs. They also do mellow moves. These feel good and don t push or

strain the dancers body. The third trio displays adagio technique in unison execution of

sustained extensions and promenades. Their legwork is continued interrupted as they

descend to the floor and, later rise and carry their legs through at full speed. The fourth

trio, offers a playful romp. This has two women comically manipulating a mans

maneuvers. This is a marked departure from the abstract vein of the others statements. As

the trios begin to commix, four graceful metal sculptures covered with filmy white fabric

descend into the space. This is very similar to Cunninghams scenery in Walk Around

Time (1968) and Place (1968). The dancers echo the sculpted curves as they move,

some individually and some in couples, rolling over, under, around and across eachother in

a captivating variety of ways. Eventually they settle to rest inside the tent-like structures.

They awaken and proceed to share all sorts of moods, and energies, and motions. This

part of the piece showcases Dun s limitless choreographic imagination.

As a person Douglas Dunn was great. He doesn t take things away from his

dancers because they can t do it. Watching them he says interests me . It amazes him

how people have the attitude for learning how to do something.

Trisha Brown, and Douglas Dunn share many things. They both use very

pedestrian like movements. They feel that dance is a part of everyday life, not just

something on a stage. This is shown through Brown s settings and Dun s movements.

They also both choose dancers because of their differences, and their will to try. They do

not have a specific body type or personality in their dancers. Dunn likes to use physical

imagery in his choreography, which allow him to create a phrase that fits the dancer.

Similarly, Brown uses structured improvisations, allowing the dancer to put in their own

feelings.