WELCOME! This is a road map to the exposition:

LOST & FOUND IN TRANSLATION

(finding the question to my answers)

Introduction & background information


Why a live exposition?

Multi-modal communication and storytelling are two key elements that emerged during my research. For the exposition of my research, I wanted to make sure these elements would be present both in the content and the form. 

Storytelling in its most basic and ancient form involves a small group of people sitting together, listening to one or more storytellers, with the intention to share and pass on experiences or lessons learned. When sharing a story in this simple manner, several modes of communication are involved (similar to some of the modes that are important for my artistic work), such as: facial expression, gesture / body language, intonation, pitch, rhythm, proximity.

The story structure I discovered during my research, and which I applied directly to my creative process, was also applied to tell the story of my research.
It is my intention that the form in which my research is shared, exposes the most important findings in a way that allows the audience to experience them directly. This way, intention, content and form overlap, which is in line with my artistic vision and the subject I set out to investigate. 


About this road map

This page is not an attempt to recreate the exposition in a digital form. Rather, it could be described as a guide, primarily meant for people who were present at the live exposition. It may help them refresh and reflect on what was shared and it gives a clear overview of relevant sources and references.


While this overview (including the video registration) may give people who were not present a sense of what it was about, it is important to note that it is in no way a replacement or trustworthy reproduction of the live experience. Nor is it intended to be that. The point being, that through traditional storytelling in close proximity a lot of information is conveyed that will be lost when transported to a different medium (see “introduction”). 

 

How to use this page
Below you will find access to the full videorecording of the presentation and an overview of all the slides that were used, accompanied by a short summary of what was said. The video and overview can be used simultaneously or separately.
I have also added some final thoughts and conclusions. (Those were not mentioned in the live exposition because the final piece wasn't finished at the time.) 

 

A list of sources and references can be found here.

Presentation overview & summary.

road map

exposition videorecording

video abstract of final piece

conclusions & final thoughts

Created by Tamar Porcelijn

Presented in front of a live audience on
May 13th 2023 in Torpedo Theater Amsterdam.

...who somehow spoke a similar (strange) language.
And I did find answers. Also many questions.
Problem: in order to conduct artistic research, at some point I would need to have an actual research question.
That turned out to be a challenge. 

With a subtitle because it sounds cinematic :) 

video abstract of final piece

Opening

Welcome!

 I used  this poem by Antonio Machado in evaluation at end of year 1, to illustrate that I felt like I was traveling without a map.
Now I am able to look back and share my story.

Music has always been my happy place.

Helps me make sense (literally) of feelings I can’t name or grasp. Gives me sense of recognition, consolation.
Has played an import role in my life from a very early age.

Left: Cassette player I used to listen to day and night when I was around 4 or 5 years old.  Elvis, Beatles, fairy tales, classical music, especially piano music.


Right: Grandfather repairing a clavichord, looking like Doc from Back to the Future. This was his hobby.

My 6th birthday, special gift: a second hand piano. Parents bought it with help from my father’s friend, Rex, who repaired and tuned piano’s.

This gift of my piano was accompanied by a cassette tape, with a personal message from Rex.

Today (May 13th) is my 41st birthday, exactly 35 years since I received that gift. Share with you part of Rex’ message. 
It’s a compilation, audio in dutch, english subs.  
(Names Tom and Anne mentioned are my parents.) 


[Click image to play]

Rex knew, just like I did, that music can offer consolation and joy by capturing feelings we can’t put into words.

I started piano lessons shortly after. Love for music kept growing from there. This is me with my piano teacher, Esther Blom.
Dancing was a natural physical expression of music.
Combination of dance and music was the best thing in the world for me, and it still is.

I started COMMA masters program 2 years ago.
Could help me find answers.
Found, first of all, a network of professionals...

In my body own flamenco en contemporary were present. But wanted to work with other dancers -> distance and focus on being the creator more than the performer. 
Intranzyt cía. (PT) gave me a great opportunity.
Teaching contemporary dancers flamenco.
Great dancers. Rhythm and quality v different and a bit awkward. 

Intranzyt cía. Famalicao (PT) 2022 

Music: Soleá por Bulerías, José Valencia

Next: Tried interpreting non-flamenco music in my own body and transferring that to dancers.

Amsterdam 2022 

Music: Persian Colors, Amine Bouhafa

I felt there was a seed of something there.
After experiments from first year I managed to define, not yet a question, but at least some intentions. 

Became clear that it was about expressing and communicating.
Began to learn about how music and movement communicate, how we interpret them.
(see references)

Music & dance important role in communication and language why they are connected (sometimes inseparable) multi modal communication turning point.

A piece emerged!
Through a process of translating between ideas, physicality, music, space and composition. Across styles and disciplines, guided by the structure and scenes as conceived at the start of the process.

Follow this side track to read more details about the piece in the Final Project Description Document.

When I realised I could make music & dance my profession, I went for it. 

Studied dance in Amsterdam, focus on contemporary dance. 

Loved the physical aspect of training, but missed the connection to music. 

Search to find back that connection between d & m, led me to flamenco. Love at first sight.
It’s the ultimate connection d and m: dancer ís musician, percussionist. 

Flamenco can’t be danced without a profound and constant connection to the music.
It’s a continuous, live interpretation of, and dialogue with music. 

I moved to Seville, Spain to learn everything I could about the art and culture of flamenco, and ended up living there for nearly 10 years.

After all these years of flamenco life, something was missing.
Worked hard to become a part of culture, assimilate to a point where my foreignness was almost unnoticeable, but in the process lost touch with my personal history. 
Flamenco places great value on authenticity and individuality.

Felt that in order to be really true to flamenco, I should be true myself and allow my “foreign” heritage to become a part of my work as well. 
What I missed from contemporary dance: attention to movement quality, choreographic composition, freedom of traveling across the stage, dancing barefoot.... 
 

Wondered how I could incorporate the different flavours & sounds.

Longed to integrate the different styles and techniques encountered on my path. Find a way of expressing myself through dance and music that felt like a full representation of who I am as a person and artist. But how? No examples, no map. I set out to find answers.

I started down a path of many questions. Just to give you an idea of what that looked like in my head. (Because looking back it seems a clear path, but was a messy process.)

Me improvising: Both styles (hands, grounded, flow). 

Could I transfer this material to other dancers?
Took this material, taught it to the dancers from itz, put it to flamenco music. 

Intranzyt cía. Famalicao (PT) 2022 

Music: Soleá por Bulerías, José Valencia

Quote from Making Movies  (S. Lumet):
"The question "What is this movie about?" will be asked over and over again throughout the book. For now, suffice it to say that the theme (the what of the movie) is going to determine the style (the how of the movie). The theme will decide the specifics of every selection made in all the following chapters. I work from the inside out. What the movie is about will determine how it will be cast, how it will look, how it will be edited, how it will be musically scored, how it will be mixed, how the titles will look, and, with a good studio, how it will be released.
What it's about will determine how it is to be made."


Began to see this concept in other books (Twyla Tharpe, Invisible Ink)
Invisible Ink:  Story structure to dramatise the theme (armature). To translate it into actions.

(See References) 

Apply it to my final piece. Start by defining a theme:

And a structure base on the 7 pt story structure.
 

Scenes, Names.
Translate across modes: Movement qualities, music ideas, space, light. Interaction between studio time, music and writing

>> Research with Intranzyt focussing on “struggle” scene.

Music and dance are forms of multi modal communication.
Universal for human communication: but there was another part: story.

Initially resistance towards "story in dance".

It began to dawn: my question had to do with storytelling and with a multi-modal way of communicating.
Tacit knowledge, what we know but can not tell, embodied, intuitive knowing and communication. (M. Polanyi, see references)
Wanted to learn more about story —> film (is also multi-modal)
Two key insights in research: (two books, many more in reference list.) 

Having a clear goal & direction to communicate unleashed creativity

Visual of flamenco (not everyone knows what it looks like):
Me dancing an improvised performance with musicians I didn’t know and met on stage, no rehearsals. 

Recorded: Sala Compañia, Jerez de la Frontera (ES), 2020.
 

 

Go through 7 parts.
7 parts as told today: you are here!
I called it filmmaker's mindset. Began to watch and re-watch films. Realised my love of film (music and dance in film) had been there throughout my life and influenced me a lot. 

Work in progress, made in a few days.
Modes: music, light, amount of dancers on stage. emptiness

Intranzyt cía. Recorded: Casa Das Artes, Famalicao (PT) 2022 

Music: Opening, Nate Wonder

First sketch Portugal.
Elaborating on theme.
Practical questions: Final Project Masters: in NL, Dancer, mantón. Which music? Focus on moment of loss.

Artistic coach Marco Flores
 helped me keep direction. 

Worked on Movement qualities, mantón, first sketches.
Went to flamenco festival in Jerez, was inspired by a great guitarist.; Juan Requena.
Used his music to make a duet in Portugal with Intranzy: Let Hold (about allowing comfort and conslotaion after loss).

Important moment; First time really combining flamenco music, contemporary movement. 

Intranzyt cía. Recorded: Famalicao (PT) 2023

Music: Granaina, Juan Requena

Next: Wanted to focus on feeling of despair, demons. Finding different movement qualities.

Intranzyt cía. Famalicao (PT) 2023

Music: Horse Pursuit, Nate Wonder / Roman GianArthur

Friend of a friend.....
Juan Requena! Never thought that would have been an option.


Now it was on! Very little time, crowdfunding. But had my ingredients: contemporary, flamenco, music and story. Structure helped to communicate, musical structure. 

Material from research with ITZ.

Set movements created in portugal to flamenco rhythm, challenging my dancer.
Translating:
Panic, crazyness, emptiness., how we found it: music, speed, volume, movement repetition to emptiness, stillness, quiet.

Second artistic coach Andrés Marín: looking from a flamenco perspective. Realised I was translating across cultures of art forms and disciplines.

Dancer Gádor Lago. Recorded: Codarts, Rotterdam 2023 

Rehearsals, long distance with Juan, journalling; making it happen.

Click to open in a new window. 

Looking back I can see the path I took and my destination (for now): research question:
  • A new working method (theme and story structure).
  • A new research method (looking at my craft through the lens of a different craft).
  • Many possible future paths (flamenco dancers, different music, live or recorded, different translations, adding or subtracting modes of communication).


The path will certainly continue, and I feel confident it will lead me to new and interesting destinations. 
At this moment I would be interested to work with flamenco dancers to see how their musicality can add to the layers of communication. It would give me more freedom to use rhythm and specific musical structures as well as physical qualities that interest me (grounded, centered movement, immediate physical reaction to music). 

Click to open in a new window. 
The roadmap can be used to follow along simultaneously.

Click to open in a new window. 

Looking back on the research and creative process.

Different pieces of the puzzle.
Portugal: Hold On, Duet & Demons
Overwhelmed. Looking for music.
So many elements and ideas, practical limitations, no idea, feeling down.

Coach Marco helped me through it.
Discussed using flamenco guitar, but complicated to find a good fit.
Solution arrived: 

conclusions & final thoughts
  • A new working method (theme and story structure).
  • A new research method (looking at my craft through the lens of a different craft).
  • Many possible future paths (flamenco dancers, different music, live or recorded, different translations, adding or subtracting modes of communication).


The path will certainly continue, and I feel confident it will lead me to new and interesting destinations. 
At this moment I would be interested to work with flamenco dancers to see how their musicality can add to the layers of communication. It would give me more freedom to use rhythm and specific musical structures as well as physical qualities that interest me (grounded, centered movement, immediate physical reaction to music). 

Looking back on the research and creative process.
(click to open)