Photo: Yi-Chun WuChoreographer: Kristin HatlebergWebsite: www.kristinhatleberg.comStatement/Philosophy/Mission Statement:The oscillation between perceiving and imagining is the lifespan of a dance. My works create a space hold that gives minds time to wander through the spider web of life’s duality. I work to expose the connections that may not be noticed, particularly those between humans and their physical environments. I strive to give the gift of time and acceptance of the living world. I aspire to heighten awareness in others and myself, together. To create performance that nurtures this oscillation I utilize themes of serendipity, isometric control, asymmetry, and power dynamics. Imagery is a driving inspiration throughout my creative process, as is meter and phrasing. Education is the cornerstone of my work. Dance, the physical rendering of all we perceive, offers continual re-education of the body and the mind, of what it means to be human, animal, mortal. In our increasingly synthetic environs, dance can be used as a non-aggressive political forum through which we can explore our momentary relevance and practice acceptance. Dance is a format that invites open forum concerning our perceptions of context, space and time. I invite you to join me in using dance as a filter: To demonstrate possibilities; to decry the current trend of living—the detachment from the physical, the separation of body soul, and mind; to accept, control, consider, think. To dream. Short Artist/Company Bio:KRISTIN HATLEBERG holds a Dance BFA and English BA from Mason Gross School of the Arts and Rutgers College, Rutgers University. She is currently creating work independently, collaboratively with Aaron Hodges, and dancing for Headless Horse." Kristin's work has been performed at Slippery Slope Institute (Harpers Ferry, MD); Depot Dances (Garrison, NY); Studio 7 (Amsterdam); September Festival (Hamilton, NJ); Grounds for Sculpture (Hamilton, NJ); and at several venues in NYC, including Brooklyn Art eXchange (BAX), Chashama, Green Space Studios, Galapagos, and Movement Research Open Performance. She has performed for Willi Dorner, Magpie Music and Dance Company, Eva Dean Dance, Fly by Night Dance Theater, Sens Production, and many independent choreographers. Kristin teaches preschool and dance education residencies in the New York City public school system. www.kristinhatleberg.com
Describe some of your achievements over the course of the last five years: The whole time I’ve been developing professionally as an artist I’ve also been striving to bridge the communication gap between my “esoteric” art form and interested onlookers who are disconnected from dance, and possibly their own bodies. I look to perform in locations that are less exposed to experimental modern dance – like county fair stages! I’ve conducted a series of interviews on dance appreciation with interested audience members to open dialogue. I’ve written a short story that covers the same performance experience from multiple perspectives (dancer, audience member, director). While working intensively I always keep a journal, and I send excerpts of it to a small mailing list. I do all this because I believe dance is creative problem-solving in action. In our increasingly template-d society, exposure to and acceptance of alternative thinking is crucial! Dance can be a tangible and compassionate introduction to this. Another important achievement: For the past year I’ve been my own patron, working a salaried job that leaves time and budget for my personal creative endeavors. This step has motivated me and permitted me to dance even more from the heart. What do you hope to gain from the experience of participating in this festival? I crave a sense of community and to better feel the nation’s dance pulse (I do not have a sense of how dis/similar it is to NYC’s dance pulse). It’s possible that I will be moving to the West Coast in late 2011, so I’m particularly interested in being exposed to the region’s dance systems and communities. I’ll be fortified by the concentrated energy of a group of artists gathered for an intensive period of performance and critique. Have you participated in other festivals or showcases? Yes, in New York City, Upstate New York and in New Jersey. If so – what were elements you enjoyed and what areas do you think could have been improved on? It has varied from festival to festival, but in general I enjoy curation that pulls together equally high-quality works that cover a broad spectrum. It opens my mind in new ways to meet new artists I respect but who create differently. None of the festivals I’ve participated in have had as much of a forum for conversation as I would like. This may be because they’ve all been one-day festivals.
What Kristin will be bringing to the Festival
Kristin will be creating something specific to the Fishbon Performance space. This is her initial expressed intent. As she connects with Fishbon artists and other artists co-exisiting in time/space for the event this will undoubtedly shift.
"As to my project: I think some detail would be helpful for you to hear. Yes, I would like to do an Installation & Performance. I would like to make a work I've had in mind for some time. It's an installation set for performance, with interactive stations for audience and also me, dancing from time to time within it.
It will have several stations (right now I think 7) at which I will intermittently perform 12 different short choreographies (0:30-5:00 each) throughout the evening; these stations will also be the entrypoints for the audience to engage with the set. The installation begins as one entity and morphs over the course of the evening into something other. While what it becomes is curated and directed by me, I do not fully control the end product: its development is communal. It is impossible for any one person to perceive the project in its entirety, we all receive independent slivers. I would like to set up my camera to record the evolution of the set, and make a time-lapse film from it.
The installation is made of mainly paper goods and images (photos, maps, film), all recycled/found/donated. Its central "theme" is "the drunkenness of things being various" and the installation/performance is a palette-sampling of the theme, using textural and dynamic contrast. There will be elements of the installation that get deconstructed and taken away by audience throughout the course of the evening.
An example of an interactive station: The Geographic Zone. This zone of the installation is all made from maps and travel paraphernalia. There is a seat (and would be awesome to have a mounted bicycle, or exercise bike!), with lights rigged to spotlight the torso and head of whoever sits down. I will use this space to do a piece call "ground reference," which is a physical reenactment of my daily commute. There will also be interactive elements, such as color-coded pushpins to place in the maps (red for where you wish you were right now, blue for where you were born, etc.).
It will be quite manageable to reconstruct a stage version of the work for the peer performance, should things fall that way. I would just isolate a few of the choreographies and set elements to show.